The Day Our Paths Crossed (And The Things That Came of It)
by Allison Illuminated
Summary: The Boy Who Lived defeated the Dark Lord on his first birthday. To Ginny, Harry Potter is a yearmate, a friend, and maybe something even more. AU where Harry was born three months later, and was placed in Ginny's year instead of Ron's.
1. We Make Our Introductions

The Day Our Paths Crossed (And The Things That Came of It)

Chapter One – We Make Our Introductions (And I Guess I'd Like That Too)

* * *

"Excuse me?"

The woman Harry had just watched send four boys through a solid brick wall turned to him. She was plump with fiery red hair, and smiled down at him. "Hello dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ginny's new, too."

She pointed at a young girl holding a cart similar to Harry's. She was short, he supposed, seeing as they could look each other straight in the eye. She had long hair like her mother's, with freckles.

"Yes," said Harry. "The thing is- The thing is, I don't know how to -"

"How to get on the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded.

"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight away at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ginny."

"Er- okay," said Harry.

He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid. He started to walk towards it, then stopped.

"Wait!"

Looking back, he saw that Ginny was watching him over her things. "Yes?"

She seemed flustered as she paused for a moment. "Well, if we are going to be in the same year, you ought to tell me your name."

"Oh." Funny, Hagrid had given Harry the impression every wizard would know his name. Either way, it was odd anyone was bothering to ask in the first place. "I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

He closed his eyes and ran forwards, wondering what he might find ahead of him.

* * *

Harry had barely a moment to settle into his empty train car before the door was shoved open.

"You!" Ginny leaned against the door frame panting as she glared at him. "That was rude of you, just running off like that."

"Didn't your mum tell me to go through ahead of you?" Harry asked as he fiddled with his wand in his hand. "Besides, I did tell you my name."

"But you didn't ask for mine!" she said. Her face was oddly flushed. He supposed it was all of the running she must have been doing through the train.

"You're Ginny, right?" Harry said as he slipped the wand into his pocket. "Did you want me to ask for your last name also?"

Ginny's face flushed even more. "Weasley. It's Weasley." She looked away, then shook her head clear and sat down across from him. "If you're really Harry Potter, then you have a scar on your forehead, right?"

Nodding, Harry swept his bangs aside and showed the lightning scar. Ginny stared.

"You-Know-Who did that to you?"

"Yes, but I can't remember it at all. Is everyone in your family a wizard?" Harry asked, realizing he had never talked to another wizard his age before.

She frowned, thinking. "Er- There was that one second cousin that's not, I think. He's some sort of accountant."

"So you must know loads of magic already."

"If you mean loads of cooking and cleaning magic, then yes. Since I had nothing better to do last year, Mum decided I could make myself helpful around the house instead of 'moping around.'" Ginny scowled.

Harry, not realizing he had hit a bit of a sore spot, asked, "Didn't your brothers teach you any magic?"

Ginny laughed, an infectious sound that made Harry grin. "Oh, those gits? You must have seen them going onto the station. The only ones who showed me anything were Fred and George – those are the twins, of course – but that was all their silly joke magic. They're pranksters, drives Mum crazy. One time, they turned Percy's room into a garden – even brought in the garden gnomes from outside."

He grinned, trying to picture what Dudley's room would look like if he were to do that. Uncle Vernon might never let him out of the cupboard again, but it would be worth it to see Dudley with his head sticking out of the ground like the petunias. "Garden gnomes… You mean, like the lawn ornaments?"

"No, I've heard Dad talk about those at the Ministry – he does some dull job with muggles, that sort of thing. They're a bunch of little pests, really, and they bite too. Anyways, there's Ron, but he doesn't do much of anything. From what I hear, he and his friends, Dean and Seamus maybe, just sit in the back of their classes and talk."

"Is that all?"

Ginny shook her head. "Let's see, I also have two older brothers out of school… Bill does things with cursed tombs, and Charlie's a dragon tamer. What's you family like?"

Harry grimaced. He would have liked to forget about the Dursleys, now that he was off to wizarding school and all. "Horrible. I have an aunt, an uncle, and an older cousin."

There was a short silence.

"Really? I just told you all about my family, and that's all you're going to tell me?" Ginny's face was pouting, and she crossed her arms as she stared at him.

Harry, a bit angry to be pushed for details, said, "Fine. My Aunt Petunia also makes me cook for the entire family, my cousin Dursley is a spoiled brat who enjoys hitting me with a stick, and my Uncle Vernon makes me spend most of my time in my bedroom."

Her mouth hung open for a moment as she searched for a response. "Well, spending time in your bedroom doesn't sound too-"

"My bedroom is the broom cupboard under the stairs."

"Oh."

They were quiet for a long while after that.

* * *

"Harry?"

Harry started as looked up from the page in his book on curing boils. Spinning around in the plush red armchair in the Gryffindor common room, he sighed as he realized it was only Ginny. "Oh, hi, you had me scared for a second there."

"Shouldn't you be sleeping? We've got classes tomorrow, after all," she said. Was that concern in her voice?

"Well," he said, showing her the cover of his book, "I am studying. Besides, I couldn't sleep. Why are you awake?"

Ginny yawned tiredly as she walked down the stairs and settled into a chair across from Harry. "The other girls were being dreadfully noisy, aside from a muggle-born – I think her name was Elise - who was being quiet. I was just using the restroom when I noticed you were still down here."

"Weren't you talking too?"

"Well, only a little bit. It is the first day, after all. Mum said we ought to start making friends early. All that talk does get boring after a while, if you think about it."

Curious, Harry asked, "Talk about what?"

"Girl stuff. You're a boy, you wouldn't understand." Ginny pointed at the book in his hands. "You like potions?"

He nodded. "Well, I'm not quite sure yet, but it does sound interesting. Did your brothers tell you anything about it?"

"I've heard the teacher here is awful. I think Ron called him "a slimy git" once or twice." She laughed, and Harry couldn't help but laugh too.

"What about you?" he asked. "Are you excited for anything in particular?"

"Charms," Ginny said, suddenly animated. "All Mum uses them for is dull mundane stuff, but she used to tell me stories about how, when she was here, she would charm any boy who looked at her until he stopped. I think she won a dueling championship once too. Besides, Professor Flitwick is supposed to be wonderful."

"We'll be in the same class, right?" said Harry, grinning.

Ginny seemed shocked for a moment, as if she hadn't even considered it, then narrowed her eyes. "It's on."

Harry blinked. "What?"

"I just told you! It's on!"

"But what's it?"

"I'm challenging you, silly! I'm going to beat you in Charms this year!" Ginny exclaimed, standing up from her arm chair.

"That's awesome!" Harry replied as he too jumped out of his armchair. "You'll be first in Charms class, and I'll be first in Potions! Why are we standing up anyways?"

Ginny groaned, shaking her head. "No, you don't get it. I mean we should do a competition!"

"But we're classmates. Shouldn't we be helping each other?"

"But where's the fun in that?" Ginny yanked her wand out of her pajamas and pointed it at the ceiling as she put a foot on the coffee table. "I'm going to win, and that's that."

"SHUT UP! IT'S ONE AM IN THE BLOODY MORNING!" someone yelled from one of the dorms upstairs.

Harry and Ginny took one look at each other and burst out laughing, making a poor effort to keep the volume of their mirth down. They calmed down after Ginny started yawning again, and looked back up at the stair to the dorms. "Hey, Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"About earlier on the train- I'm sorry." She looked down at the ground, gripping the cushion of the armchair. "I didn't realize-"

"It's fine, really," he said with a smile. "Would you still like to be friends?"

Ginny nodded. "I think I'd like that." She moved to take a seat again, but paused as she yawned again. "I'm sorry, but I am awfully tired. Hopefully the girls will have quieted down a bit. See you in the morning?"

"Yeah. Goodnight, Ginny."

"Goodnight Harry."

That night, Harry fell asleep with a potions book on his chest and a smile on his face. Who knew beginnings could ever happen like this?

* * *

I'll take this as my first hesitant steps into the Harry Potter fandom. I suppose we'll just have to see what comes of it.

Much love, Pokefan87


	2. Some Things Will Still Be Secrets

The Day Our Paths Crossed (And The Things That Came of It)

Chapter Two: Some Things Will Still Be Secrets (and Better Left Unsaid)

* * *

Harry yelped as a hand snaked out and pulled him into the dark alcove right outside of Charms class.

"Ravenclaws!" Ginny hissed. "How are we supposed to compete with Ravenclaws?"

"Why are we whispering? Why are we in the alcove?" Harry whispered back, his arm uncomfortably pinned in between Ginny and the cold stone. "Besides, they seemed perfectly nice to me. Who was that girl you were talking to, Luna?"

"That's besides the point! What are we going to do?"

"Um." Harry didn't particularly see the point in doinganything, really, aside from going to class. Professor Flitwick seemed like a nice enough man, even if he had squealed and fallen off of his pile of books when he read Harry's name off of the sheet, and the material was interesting too.

"I know! We'll just have to study more outside of class," Ginny said triumphantly.

"Brilliant," said Harry, rolling his eyes. "I suppose next we'll be studying extra for History of Magic too?" He almost wanted to laugh, looking at how enthusiastic she was after coming to such an obvious conclusion.

"No, that class was boring. Come on, let's go catch up to Luna," she said. Harry grinned and shook his head as he let her pull him out of the alcove. What had he gotten himself into?

Luna had dirty blonde hair and a dreamy air about her. As they caught up to her, she stuck her wand behind her ears and smiled at them. "Oh, you must be Harry. I've read all about you, of course, my father publishes the most interesting articles about you."

"Why would anyone want to write an article about me?" he asked, nonplussed.

"Because _you're_ Harry Potter."

Ginny nudged Harry. "Luna's father is the editor of The Quibbler. She lives near me."

Before they could talk anymore, a loud voice came from behind them. "Oi! What were you doing with my sister in that-" A hand grabbed Harry's shoulder and spun him around, and Harry came face to face with a freckled boy with red hair who looked a lot like Ginny. He stared at him for a second, surprised. "Blimey, are you Harry Potter?"

"Um, yes?"

Ginny pushed past Harry and glared at her brother. "For your information, we weren't doing anything at all, and you don't have to be such a git to my friend!"

"Sheesh, Ginny, I'm just trying to protect you."

"For information, Ronald, I don't need your protection," Ginny said angrily.

Ron's face flushed a peculiar shade of red, but he didn't have a chance to respond before a drawling voice came from behind. "Oh look, the Weasels are multiplying."

Ron spun around and yanked his wand out of his pocket as a boy with snowy blond hair and an unpleasantly sallow complexion walked up to him. He was flanked by two big ugly kids, and Harry was reminded of Dudley and his friends. He shivered as he unconsciously shifted behind Ginny.

"Malfoy, go away, you slimy git!" he yelled.

Draco sneered as he drew his own wand, and Ginny and Harry backed up. "You ought to know it's against the rules to use magic in the corridors, Weasley. Hasn't your little Lioness taught you anything? Or do you think you're special after your special service award last year?"

Harry leaned in towards Ginny and whispered, "How did he get a special service award?"

She shook her head and said, "I'll tell you later."

"She's not my Lioness, and you're just hung up on the fact that Slytherin lost the house cup last year!" Ron retorted.

Malfoy's face darkened. They had gathered an audience around them as Malfoy pushed his friends back and walked forwards. "Oh yeah? We _destroyed_ you in the Quiddich cup. What brooms were your brothers riding again? Cleansweep Fives? You think you deserved that cup?"

Ron and Ginny both flinched.

Malfoy wasn't done. "The only reason you won was the 'heroics' you and your stupid mudblood girlfriend-"

Harry knew instantly that Malfoy had just said something awful, because Ginny shrieked in outrage as Ron drew his wand and yelled, "Don't you dare talk about Hermione like that!" A jet of green light shot into Malfoy's chest, launching the blond boy backwards into his friends.

A mutter of disgust rumbled through the crowd as Malfoy belched a handful of slimy green slugs onto the ground. Ron clenched his fists and walked away, and Ginny stalked back over to Harry. "Come on, let's get out of here before he tries anything else."

Harry awkwardly tried to keep pace alongside Ginny. Wearing felt robes was strange, a bit like wearing a dress. Harry wished he didn't know what wearing a dress felt like, of course, but Dudley and his friends had decided ages ago that it was good fun to beat his younger stepbrother until he dressed like a girl. This felt different, though, which he thought was a good thing. "What was that all about?"

Ginny was still seething as she marched up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. "Draco Malfoy. Ron talks about that git all the time. He's a bully. One time last year, he tricked Ron into a midnight duel in the trophy room, only Filch was there instead. Ron had detention for a week, it was awful! Apparently he had to clean the trophy room without magic." Ginny shuddered.

"Hm, he reminds me a bit of my cousin Dudley," Harry murmured thoughtfully. "What did he say?"

"Mudblood," Ginny said in a lower voice. "You should never use it, it's an awful word. It means you're a muggleborn wizard, or at least you have muggle blood."

Harry frowned. "Why would anyone say that about someone? I don't see why it would matter who your parents are."

"That's just because you were raised by muggles, Harry. People like Malfoy think that they're better than everyone else, purebloods like them. Of course, Dad always talks about how they run the Ministry, they have every seat on the Wizengamont after all, so it's not like anyone's going to do something about it."

This made Harry's head spin. "Ministry? Wizengamont?"

"Oh, that's right, you wouldn't know." Ginny babbled as they reached yet another landing. "The Ministry of Magic, I guess that would be like the muggle government, which means that the Wizengamont would be like- um, gosh, we learned this in the muggle studies class Mum and Dad made me take last year- I mean, it was by owl, so it's not like we were actually supposed to learn anything- Anyways..."

Harry smiled as he listened to Ginny talk about the Ministry and how it worked. He was fine not having to talk that much, he was used to it. Slowly, Ginny's anger seemed to slowly deflate, and before they knew it, they were standing at the door to the Griffindor dorms.

"Um, Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"Who were they talking about?"

Ginny pushed through the portrait, and Harry stepped into the common room behind her. "You mean Ron and Malfoy?"

"Yeah."

She stopped short in the corridor. Harry caught himself before he bumped into her, and she motioned for him to look around the corner. "You see that girl?"

A young girl with bushy hair was curled into an armchair in the corner of the common room, reading a massive book. "Is that who they-"

"That's the Griffindor Lioness," Ginny whispered. "Ron's best friend. She's incredible, top of every class at Hogwarts. Last year, she went on a crusade against kids who said that word, mostly Slytherins. Ron says everyone here adores her or hates her. Thing is, it worked too, a Slytherin sixth year attacked her and she won, can you believe it? It worked too, Dumbledore instituted a bunch of new rules. Malfoy's going to get into so much trouble. Ron really shouldn't have attacked him, but it's such an _awful_ word, so who can blame him? There's just one thing..."

"What?"

"At the end of last year," Ginny whispered. "Something happened. Something big. She and Ron did something, and the both got awards of outstanding service to the school. It's just, nobody know what they did or why. Both of them were in the hospital wing for a week."

Harry looked back at the girl, undisturbed by the flickering fire. "What's her name?"

"Oh, it's Hermione. Hermione Granger."

 **[A/N] Thank you for reading! This is a side project for me, so I'd say to expect updates about once a month. You guys rock!**

 **Thank you to GinnyPotter6891, faeriespark, tony91, Richasa, and scrappy8 for reviewing, and to everyone who followed and favorited. Your support means the world to me!**

 **Much Love, Pokefan87**


	3. As We Take Flight

The Day Our Paths Crossed (And The Things That Came of It)

Chapter Three – As We Take Flight (and Others Come Our Way)

* * *

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Harry groaned and stretched against the wooden desk he found himself seated at. The unused classroom danced with dust as Ginny sent a feather flying across the ancient walls. Coughing, he said, "Could you stop? You're getting dust everywhere!"

The feather fell to the floor, and she turned and grinned at him. "How was that, Harry?"

He couldn't quite understand how she had just ignored his tone completely. "Fantastic, really," he acquiesced to her cheerfulness. Infective, really. Hadn't anyone told her was a dreadful day it was? "You should go offer to clean all of the cauldrons for Snape, I'm sure he'd appreciate it."

"Oh, shut up, you're not still riled up about that are you?"

Harry sat up, his spine arcing uncomfortably against the rigid chair back. "That git hates me, and I haven't got the slightest clue why!"

Ginny shrugged, turning back to her feather and saying the incantation again. She grinned as the feather danced around the room, a youthful curiousity brightening their dull surroundings. "You know, Mum always said I would be good at charms someday. I suppose all of that cooking wasn't useless after all – I mean, watch this! Incendio!"

"And now you've set your feather on fire," Harry said dryly as Ginny's eyes widened.

She ran towards the burning feather, but by the time she hit it with a jet of water it had already burnt up. "Well aren't you just in a mood today?"

"Well, it's raining, and the class I was looking forwards to the most is taught by a can of poisonous hair gel," he grumbled, prodding the desk with his wand. Maybe, he supposed, it would turn into something interesting if he thought about it hard enough.

"So what?" Ginny said, turning on her heel and laughing slightly as she flourished her wand doing so. "Are you just going to let him ruin it for you?"

"Huh?"

She stuck her wand into her pocket and crossed her arms. "Harry James Potter, do you-"

"How did you learn my middle name?"

"Your schedule, now be quiet. Do you want to learn about potions or not?" Ginny asked. Her bossy tone was mildly undercut by her massive robes, making her look two years younger than she actually was.

"Well, yes, but-"

"Who cares about Professor Snape? If you really want to learn potions, there's no reason why we can't figure it out on our own," Ginny said as she walked over and pulled the chair away from the desk Harry was leaning on. "Come on, practice with me instead of lying there like a flobberworm!"

"What's a flobberworm?" Harry asked as he rose to his feet.

"Oh, that's _right,_ I totally forgot how uncultured you are! They're like normal worms, only about a foot long and covered in gross slime-"

"Lovely," Harry said, questioning why he had asked in the first place.

"Oh, yes – Mum used to make me and Ron go pick them out of the cabbage patch when we got in trouble. No magic either, just out hand so we didn't ruin the gloves. There was one time where Fred and George blamed us..."

He spaced out as she went on and on about all the troubles she had gotten into before Hogwarts. Ginny had a habit of starting to talk, then not stopping when she reached what seemed like a perfectly reasonable stopping point to Harry. He had never encountered anything quite like it, and it was both facinating and exhausting.

"...anyways, you ought to at least be doing something. Should we go back to the common room?"

Harry shook his head, shivering as he thought of it. "And be alone with Colin Creevy some more?" How had the only boy in his age group in Gryffindor managed to be obsessed with him? It wasn't fair – there were so many girls they got a magically expanded dormitory (With a sauna! Ginny would exclaim) and he was stuck with just one annoying prat.

"Well then, how would you like to learn Wingardium Leviosa too? I'm bored, I could teach you..."

* * *

The pebbles spiraled around each other in the air, colliding under the midday sun. Harry groaned as his was knocked into the dirt part, shoving his wand back into his pocket as Ginny let her float down to her palm. "And the white pebble strikes again!" she cheered.

"I'll beat you eventually," said Harry, pulling his hair away from his scar.

It had been a week since she had made him learn the spell, and he had gotten good enough at it that he could play some of the games wizarding children ammused themselves with. It beat foursquare and the other playground games he remembered for sure. It had only begun to really strike Harry just how _cool_ his life had become – here he was, learning magic rather than getting beat around by Dudley and his friends.

Ginny turned and ran down another path, robes yanked behind her like a plastic bag caught on a car's bumper. "C'mon, let's go this way!"

"Wait, but we were going to visit Hagrid!" Harry called as he followed her, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"But it's so pretty!"

He stopped by her side at the edge of the reeds. The sun had lit up the lake, long shimmering reflections of gold crowned by the green of summer. "Yeah, it is. Can we go now?"

Ginny rolled her eyes at him, kicking his shin lightly. "Oh, shut up, you're just being difficult again."

"Hello," a voice came from behind them. "Mind if I join you?"

Harry turned to see a girl with a long brown ponytail done up on one side of her head with a yellow scrunchie. She smiled as Ginny said, "Hi, what's your name?"

"Cleo, but it's short for Cleodie," she responded. How, Harry wondered, had he found yet _another_ girl who simply towered over him? She was even taller than Ginny. "I remember you two from the sorting – Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, right? You're both Gryffindors."

"Yes, that's right," Harry said, wondering whether he ought to look up a growth potion of some sort. On the other hand, that would make the cupboard even more unbearable than it was. Did he need to bring a shrinking potion back to the Dursleys?

Ginny looked her over thoughtfully. "That's really quite observant of you. You know, I can't remember the first thing about who was sorted into the other houses – Dad's fault, I suppose – I mean, I have a hard time keeping all of my siblings straight, especially-"

"Ginny," he hissed as he elbowed her.

"What?" she said, turning on him. "I'm trying to tell a story!"

Pointedly, Harry said "She was _trying_ to talk to us before you started rambling again."

Cleo giggled and shook her head, saying, "No, it's fine! You're a lot like my sister, actually, so I don't mind. People tell me I have a good memory, but I think my mum just charmed me too much when I was a baby."

"What house are you in?" Harry asked politely – Petunia had given him a lesson on politeness once. Make small talk to look natural, then shut up and go to your room once they stop paying attention. He was rather skilled at it, too. One would hope they were after years of practice.

"Oh, I'm a Slytherin." Ginny gasped in horror, but she laughed and brushed it aside. "Oh, don't be like that. For all my name is Cleodie Moorshade, my mum is a Ravenclaw and my sister is a squib. Besides, Malfoy and his lot drone on about how bad your family, especially the one in the year above us, is, but you seem perfectly decent to me. What are you up to?"

Ginny's face was scrunched up as if she had swallowed something unpleasant, so Harry ignored her and said to Cleo, "Oh, we were just on our way to see Hagrid, the groundskeeper."

"Oh, that sounds fun! Mind if I tag along?" she asked.

"Ye-"

"Sure, why not?" Harry said.

"Ok, awesome! It's that way, right?" Cleo pointed before skipping out ahead, leaving a red-faced Ginny behind.

"What do you mean, okay? She's a _Slytherin_ , Harry, how could this possibly be okay?" Ginny spluttered as they started walking after the girl.

Shrugging, he said "Dunno, she seemed decent enough to me. Besides, you were perfectly happy talking to her before you figured out what house she was in."

Hagrid's house was a small affair, with a high roof of thatch and bird's nests. The oak door swung open, and Hagrid blinked as he was faced with an unfamiliar first year. "Erm, hullo? Can I help you?"

"Yes, we're here to see you! I'm Cleodie, but you could call me Cleo if you want." She looked passed him and her eyes widened. "Oh, I love bloodhounds!" Slipping under his arm, she made a beeline for the old hound lying by the fire.

Hagrid raised his eyebrow at Harry and Ginny as they walked up the stone steps to his hut, joyous barks coming from behind him. "Erm... Hullo Harry, Ginny, is she with you two?"

"Suppose so," Harry said, grinning as Hagrid enveloped him in a massive bear hug. "Good to see ya, Hagrid."

"Still haven't been feeding you enough, Harry," he responded gruffly as he let him down. "Come in, I'll get'cha tea and cakes."

"This is lovely, Hagrid!" Cleo exclaimed as they walked in, sitting cross legged on the ground with Fang's head in her lap. "I don't suppose you built all of this furniture yourself?"

Hagrid nodded gruffly as he pulled a basket of cakes out of a case and set it by a teapot on his wooden table. "Not often people notice, really. Lots of stuff to store in here, to take care of the Forbidden Forest and all. You lot have a good second week back, and all?"

"Oh, Professor Lockhart is such a _prat_!" Ginny exclaimed, her suspicious looks to Cleo all but vanishing. "Apparently we have to understand the 'basics,' before we actually learn anything, so he's making us listen to him read _every single chapter_ of his dreadful books out loud!"

Harry relaxed into Hagrid's deep armchair, listening as Ginny and Cleo took turns exchanging stories about their week. Really, he was noticing, when had he ever just been this _happy_ to be around others and learning? No Dudley, no punishments – all of that seemed as if it was from another universe, so far removed from the world of magic as if to be a fairy tale. It was incredible, and he was realizing faster and faster that he _never_ wanted to go back.

 **[A/N] It's always such relaxing and lovely diversion to leave my Drama/Romance RWBY main project behind for a moment and just letting myself write something cute and innocent. Coming back to this story, I love how sweet these characters are!**

 **Thank you to scrappy8, DWShadow3145, trigbcc, GinnyPotter6891, deant33, LadyB3lla, and JD4320 for your wonderful feedback, as well as a massive thanks to all of you who have followed and favorited this little story.**

 **Much Love, Pokefan87**


	4. Some Things We Hide From Friends

The Day Our Paths Crossed (And The Things That Came of It)

Chapter Four – Some Things We Hide From Friends (As We Make Them, Too)

* * *

"Boy, get in here!"

Harry gasped, sitting up straight in his bed only to hit the ceiling above him. His head throbbed, dust falling down from above and onto his threadbare bedroll. The door to the cupboard slowly creaked open as he pulled himself out of the tightly enclosed space. His surroundings were almost familiar yet too bizarre to really tell. Picture frames hung at odd angles, Vernon's relatives silently yelling through their frames as he passed underneath. The floor twisted and turned beneath him, spiraling down into the kitchen below.

 _This is a dream, isn't it?_

His uncle was purple in the face as he slipped across the asymmetrical tiles, his shaking finger jabbed towards the purple fire on the stove. "Boy, this is your fault!"

Harry had never quite understood that – why was everything always his fault when he had never done anything wrong. "I don't understand. It looks like a perfectly fine fire to me."

"You've turned my frying pan into a ruddy chicken!" Vernon roared, shaking the unfortunate bird in front of his face.

"But I haven't done anything! I can only turn a match into a needle, almost." It struck Harry how absurd the whole situation was, and he couldn't help but to laugh. He was a wizard now! He didn't have to listen to his uncle! "It wasn't like you knew how to use the frying pan anyways, I think you'll be better off now."

Harry ducked under the flying chicken. "Dudley!" Vernon hollered before turning back to him. "Now you listen, boy! I will not tolerate any of this magic rubbish under my roof! I have clothed you and fed you for eleven years, and if you aren't bloody grateful."

"You mean I wore Dudley's rags and fed myself and all of you, right?" said Harry, emboldened in a dizzying rush of self confidence.

"Chicken!" Petunia screamed as the unfortunate bird collided with her face, sending them both tumbling backwards into the fireplace of burning letters. Vernon rushed to her side and pulled her out, rolling her along the ground to put out her pink dress which had begun a spectacular blaze. Dudley ran into the kitchen wearing his rabbit pajamas, and Harry lost it completely.

"Dudley!" his uncle bellowed as he doubled over laughing.

"Yes?"

Vernon glared at Harry. "Put that Smeltings stick of yours to good use and teach the runt a lesson."

Harry stopped laughing and gulped as his portly cousin advanced on him. Slowly, he started to back away. In a blink they were back on the playground, Dudley's friends surrounding him as he laid sprawled out in the dust. Dudley grinned at him, swinging his stick around as he advanced toward Harry. "What's wrong, are you afraid? Why aren't you waking up yet?"

 _Wait, what?_

"Harry!"

Colin jumped away from Harry's bedside, holding his hands up as Harry shot straight up. He pressed his hand to the side of his head, soothing away a long remembered pain. His bed had long red drapes with golden tassels, and the canopy was nearly as tall as he was. There were no spiders, no dirty socks, no bruises to tend with the old tube of salve he had taken from Aunt Petunia's bathroom when she had been out for tea one day. He was home. He was safe.

"Harry, are you okay? You're breathing rather funny." Harry frowned and fought to calm his nerves before turning to glare at his roommate.

Colin Creevey might not have been the last person he would have chosen to live with, but he was pretty far down on that list. He was a mousy boy with mussed brown hair, and he was just a bit taller than Harry. He narrowed his eyes at the camera already looped around the boy's neck. "Colin, were you taking pictures of me again? I told you, I-"

"No, I stopped that last week. We're roommates, remember? Why would I need a picture of you when I can _talk_ to you every day?" Colin said earnestly, bouncing back across the room and flopping onto the only other bed in the room.

Sighing, Harry reached onto his bedside table and picked up his alarm clock. "Colin, it's six thirty in the morning!"

Colin yawned as he pulled his covers back up, putting his camera back by his bedside. "You were screaming in your sleep, and I was worried. I'm glad you're okay now, it was awfully noisy in here, after all." He stretched, readjusting his pillow under his head. "'s okay, you can go back to sleep now..."

"Colin- you..." Harry trailed off as his roommate curled up under his covers, already falling back asleep. Sighing, he put his glasses on and changing into his robes; after that dream, he had no interest in going back to sleep again. "He's like a puppy! How can he be so energetic and go right back to sleep?" he muttered to himself as he took one last look back at his roommate then descended into the common room.

The only person he recognized in the common room was Lucile Benella, another first year from Ginny's dorm. She also was several inches taller than him, which was intimidating, and he had yet to see her without a scowl on her freckled face. "If you're looking for your girlfriend, she's still asleep," she said as he walked up to her. "It's her fault we all slept so bad too; she kept us all up because she wouldn't stop reading! How does she even know Lomus anyways, Professor Flitwick says we won't learn it for another week."

"I'm pretty sure it's Lumos," said Harry in the blandest tone he could muster, shoving his annoyance down. "Plus, she's not my girlfriend."

"Ri-ight." Lucile sighed as she stared at the scroll below her quilltip. "Oh, Harry, you do well in Transfiguration. Could you help me out?"

"Isn't that due this morning?"

"Yup, that's why I'm doing it now!" she said, grinning up at him.

Harry nodded. "Right, so I, um, have to do something, which is why I was leaving. Bye!" He walked away from his yearmate's cries of protest and slipped out of the common room. Drawing his wand from his robes, he held it up and whispered, "Lumos." The familiar spark of awe and joy from using magic flickered with the spell before slowly fading back into the warmth of the torchlight around him.

 _I can see why Ginny doesn't like her much…_

"That was wonderful dear, but could you stop leaning on my frame?" He jumped and stammered out an apology to the Fat Lady before setting out towards the grounds.

The morning was foggy, a hazy pallor hanging over the rolling slopes of Hogwarts' grounds. The path to the Owlery wound up a steep slope to the edge of a gentle overhang, filled with pocket crags and piles of collected rocks. Not for the first time since getting his wand, Harry wondered whether there were spells to make him stronger. Reaching the warped stone tower, he leaned against the door frame and sighed before going inside.

Hedwig hooted happily and swooped down to greet him. Harry smiled at his pet as he pulled one of the treats he had bought with Hagrid out and fed it to her. Her feathers were ruffled but not unkempt; a simple stroke was all it took to put them back in order. "Have you been doing well?" he asked her, and she hooted in acknowledgment. "I'm glad. Ginny's doing well too – she's still asleep though. It's really been a month, huh?"

"Oh, she's beautiful!"

Harry was jolted out of his talk with Hedwig and turned around to see the speaker. "Oh, hi Cleo. What are you doing up so early?"

"Mailing packages, of course!" she exclaimed as she put two brown parcels on the ground. Running over, she stroked Hedwig's neck gently, eliciting a coo from the owl. "I love snowy owls, I had no idea she was yours! What's her name?"

"Hedwig, Hagrid got her for me," Harry said, then frowned. "You've seen her before?"

"Oh yes, I spend loads of time up here. I love animals. I have this lovely cat named Bluebell, she hides under my bed back in the dorm mostly." Cleo gave Hedwig one last stroke, then walked back over to her packages. "I love it up here, really. It's a shame we can't have two pets, else I would get my own owl too. How's Ginny?"

"Asleep, I had to talk to _Lucile_ to figure it out," he grumbled as she strapped her package to one of Hogwarts' barn owls.

"Oh, tell her I said hi!" she exclaimed, handing the owl a treat before sending it off.

Harry gawked at her. "Why? Ever since she figured out I was the Boy-Who-Lived _and_ doing well in class, she's done nothing but pester me to help her-"

"-with her homework, right?" Cleo walked back towards the entrance and waved at Hedwig. "C'mon, the lake is really pretty in the morning!"

"Wait, hold on," Harry called as he ran outside after her. "You're saying that you actually helped her?"

Giving his a thumbs up, she said, "Oh, yeah, I did. She's a bit moody, and she's a simply dreadful procrastinator, but she was sweet once we started talking. Did you know her parents are traveling aurors who help other magical governments? Apparently they were down in Indonesia when she came to Hogwarts, and they'll be transferring to Lake Victoria this winter."

"Why would I know that?" Harry asked, his words falling on deaf ears. _Or care, really, it's not like I asked._

"She said it gets kinda lonely sometimes, so she's glad when someone actually is interested in talking to her. You know, now that I think about it, I don't know much about you, Harry."

Harry stopped short as she spun around to look at him. "I, um- What?"

Cleo shrugged, her ponytail swaying gently in the breeze. "I mean, _obviously_ I know about the Boy-Who-Lived and all that, but you've been living with muggles since then, right? What was that like?"

His thoughts immediately went to his dream. _Why would she want to hear about that? Besides, it's stupid, nobody_ _actually cares anyways_ _._ "It was fine, I guess. I lived with my aunt and uncle and cousin."

"How was that?"

"Dunno, do you ask everyone this many questions?"

"Oh, am I bothering you?" she asked, pushing her scrunchie, which was blue that day, further towards her head as she ran to catch up with him. "I'm sorry, Mum always says I ask to many questions about other people."

"No, it's fine," Harry said. "I just don't like talking about it much." They stopped at the lake's edge, watching the dark ripples as they drifted against the rocky shoreline. The conversation drifted off into nothing and small talk as they watched the sun rise into the clouds.

 _Besides, it doesn't matter now. They're not here, and even if they were, I can use magic now and make all of it go away._ _I don't need to think about it. I'll never have to think about it again._

* * *

"Bye Cleo! Bye Luna! See you guys later!"

Harry was happy, nearly giddy after their first flying lesson. His fingers still tingled from gripping the wood of the school broom, and his hair was in a wild windswept mess. "So there are chasers and beaters, is that it?"

Ginny stopped waving at their friends and turned back to him. "Well, there's a seeker too, and their job is to catch the golden switch, which is worth one hundred and fifty points. Charlie was a seeker, but he left Hogwarts two years ago; too bad, really, Ron says Cormac McLaggen who's the new seeker is an ass. Fred and George play too, they're beaters, and Ron tried out but he didn't make it on – oh, hi Ron."

"What were you doing?" Ron asked with a scowl as Harry and Ginny sat across from him at the Gryffindor table.

"What?"

"What do you mean, what? You were talking to a _Slytherin_!" Ron's plate was filled to the brim with food, and he was busily chewing in between bites.

Harry looked over at the Slytherin table, where Cleo was eating with the rest of the Slytherin first years. "So?" One of the boys was busy talking to her, and she looked slightly put out from a distance.

"Poor Cleo, it looks like Harper is being a jerk again," Ginny mused, then turned back to Ron. "What's your problem?"

"My problem? My sister's hanging out with a bunch of death eaters in training!" he exclaimed, the gravitas of his pronouncement slightly lessened by the massive bite of chicken he had just taken.

Ginny huffed, and Harry rolled his eyes and focused on his food. _Oh boy, here we go again._ "For your information, _Ronald,_ just because Malfoy is a little git doesn't mean the rest of them are. Cleo is perfectly nice, and for your information, she's only one Slytherin out of the whole house! At least I'm making friends outside of my house-"

"Loony Lovegood? She and her dad are both crazy! You know Mum would want you to talk to the other Gryffindor girls, but I've heard you've been ignoring them," Ron said, his face flushing red.

"What, now that Mum's not here you're going to be her instead?" Ginny snapped back. "It's none of your business who my friends are! Besides, the other Gryffindor girls in our year just talk about nothing, which is so annoying! Well, Elise is alright, she's muggleborn and really doesn't talk much, but the rest of them!"

"Ginny, you talk about nothing all the time, why is that a problem?" Ron asked, and she reached across the table and slugged his arm.

"Be quiet, at least I like having interesting conversations!"

Harry quietly ate as the sibling kept bickering, smiling at their antics. _They don't know when to quit, do they?_

"Do they do this much?"

"Oh yeah, all the time," Harry said before realizing he didn't know the speaker. Looking up, his eyes widened. "Oh, you're Hermione Granger, right? Ginny's told me about you."

Hermione blushed and looked away. "It's positively odd, really. After the end of last year, everyone seems to know who I am, and I didn't even do much. Course you would know what that's like, right, Harry Potter?"

His hand unconsciously went to the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. "Yeah, it is weird. I didn't even know about any of this until August, and it all happened when I was one anyways. What did happen last year, anyways? Ginny wouldn't tell me."

She glanced over at the siblings, who were still bickering and oblivious to their surroundings. "I'm really not supposed to say, and neither is Ron. Something came up in the school last year, and Ron and I helped stop it. It was no big deal, really. Dumbledore did most of the work, we were just in the right place at the right time. Do you think we should stop them?"

Harry shook his head as Ginny grabbed Ron's ear and brought the two of them head to head. "There's no point, they'll just be at each other's throats again as soon as we leave."

"Weasleys, huh?" Hermione said with a grin, which Harry returned.

"Weasleys."

"First years had flying practice today, right? How was that?"

Any tension Harry had been feeling slipped away as the conversation shifted back to something he was comfortable with, and he relaxed in his chair. _Who knew there would be so many interesting people to talk to at Hogwarts, let alone be friends with?_ Regardless, he was loving every second of it. "Oh, it was totally awesome..."

 **[A/N] I hope everyone is having a wonderful holidays! It's been nice to sit by the fire with hot chocolate and cookies and write some lovely fluff, and I hope this belated present can make all of you feel as warm and fuzzy as it made me. Friendship is so wholesome, and I love it!**

 **All of your feedback continues to be absolutely amazing! Thank you to LadyB3lla, triggbc, GinnyPotter6891, scrappy8, TheWateringWizard, Akela Victoire, PullTogether, AnnabethBlack, and Atypical16 for reviewing, as well as everyone who followed and favorited. You all are absolutely amazing!**

 **Much Love, Allie**


	5. Home Is Where the Hearth Is

The Day Our Paths Crossed (and the Things that Came of It)

Chapter Five – Home Is Where the Hearth Is

* * *

After one month of Hogwarts, Harry could safely say that Hogwarts was everything and nothing like he had ever expected.

His classes had turned out to be a lot of fun, for the most part. Professor McGonagall was strict but a good teacher. With Ginny's constant nagging at him to study, he found he did quite well at Transfiguration, and the two of them had been moved along from matches to teacups, which he found rather challenging yet enjoying. When she had taken them aside, she had told them how proud she was to have the two of them in her house – a sort of compliment Harry had never received before that left him happier than he could remember being in a long while.

In fact, across the board his teachers had taken to him and Ginny. Flitwick and Sprout's classes were harder to stand out in, as the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were paired for both. That didn't stop it from becoming quickly apparent that Ginny was the best at charms in their year, while Harry did about as well as Luna and another bright Ravenclaw named Eloise Gladsen. Harry excelled in Astronomy, which Ginny didn't like ("The stars are so pretty, why would I want to do _arithmetic_ with them?"), and was a natural born flier.

Potions was… disappointing, to say the least. From the first day, it was clear that Snape had a vendetta against him, plus he was paired with Colin, which was challenging on the best of days. The bright side was that Cleo was in their class, and due to an odd number of students she and Ginny had gotten paired up with each other. That didn't make it any less horrid for Harry, but at Ginny's insistence he kept working at homework.

Beyond that, Lockhart's DADA class was a complete joke, and Harry had yet to make it through a full class with Binns without nodding off. Ginny spent a good deal of time complaining to him about the crushes that the five other Gryffindor girls besides Elise had developed on the man. "How can they be so gross and giggly?" she would complain, kicking her feet up in the spare classroom that had become their go to meeting spot. He had never imagined just how _fun_ school could be, and it was made all the better by all of the friends he had made.

Ginny was like a whirlwind in his life, stirring up the dust and blowing things every which way. Slowly, he had begun finding himself opening up to her, and she would respond in kind. Always on her feet, always trying new things… Harry had lost track of all the times she had dragged him out of a chair to go see a new part of the grounds or to try a cool spell. He loved the unpredictability, how easily she opened herself up and said whatever was on her mind. She was the first person he ever had really counted as a best friend, and it was amazing.

Cleo and Luna were both mysteries to him. Cleo was always asking questions, and she seemed genuinely interested in everyone around her. Everyone seemed to be on edge when they were together, though; an inevitable side effect on other students whenever a Gryffindor and a Slytherin were seen together. Despite that, he was happy to hang out with her and Ginny – Cleo loved Ginny, probably because she would answer any simple question with a full narration of whatever was on her mind.

Luna was… well, odd. Harry wasn't sure what a Lumpik was, or how exactly he had a Nargle infestation, but… She was Ginny's childhood friend, and Cleo found her fascinating, so he just went along with her. She was slowly becoming his friend, no matter how quirky she might have been.

Sure, he wished that there would be a boy, any boy, in his year worth hanging out with. Yet when he was around Luna, Cleo, and Ginny, none of that seemed to matter. The four had begun to hang out on a much more regular basis, getting more than a few odd looks from the older students. "Look, isn't that the Boy Who Lived and a Weasley with a pureblood Slytherin and the batty Quibbler girl?" people would whisper as they passed, but he couldn't have cared less.

He had true friends, interesting classes, and he had never been happier in his life.

* * *

In the Griffindor common room, a warm fire blazed merrily as streaks of rain spilled down the narrow windows. Harry curled up tighter in his blanket, ignoring the low hum of conversation around him. Stifling a yawn, he snuggled against the armrest and let his glasses slip from his hand to the plush fabric.

 _This feels like home._

Not the Durselys. Never there, just… home. He couldn't explain it, and if he was being entirely honest with himself, he didn't want to.

"Harry!"

He tried to squint away his blurry vision and failed, closing his eyes as a tray rattled down on the table beside him. "Ginny, 'm sleepy."

"I brought us hot chocolate, silly! C'mon, scoot over, the fourth years took all the other couches."

Harry sat up and shoved his glasses back on as she plopped down next to him. "Hey, don't sit on my feet!"

"Look at how much room there is! You can move a little bit!"

"I was sitting here!"

"And you barely take up any space! Besides, I don't wanna drink it alone." They jostled for a moment. Ginny managed to grab his legs and pushed them off the cushion, swinging her legs around next to his. "See?"

He pouted as she reached over him and grabbed a hot chocolate, her fiery hair tickling his nose as the steamy aroma wafted up to his nose. Harry considered retorting, but decided against it; she had brought him hot chocolate after all. "Thank you," said he, sipping a half melted marshmallow and making a face as the hot liquid burned his tongue. "What were you up to?"

"Oh, I was up in my room with Elise – she wanted to show pictures of her family, and there were all sorts of curious muggle things, so I asked her about them, and then I told her about Dad's job, and long story short we talked about toasties for an hour," she said, giving him an earnest smile. "I told her that you probably know how to use a toastie to, so that would be something you two could talk about."

Harry couldn't help but to laugh, incredulous yet unsurprised. _Only Ginny could talk so much about something that mundane._ "Are you talking about toasters?"

"Oh, is that what they're called?" She made a grab at the blanket, and Harry untucked it from beneath his legs and let her snuggle against him.

At first Ginny's constant hugs had made him flinch away, reminding him too much of getting tackled by Dudley. However, in the past month, Harry had begun to relax and, much to his surprise, found that he quite enjoyed her physical affection. Having a friend was nice, and Harry had had quite enough of pre-teen boys between Colin and his cousin. "Mm..."

Who knew getting to sit around all day instead of doing housework like at the Dursley's could be so tiring?

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

Ginny rested her head against his shoulder; he still wasn't able to fathom quite why she enjoyed that position, considering how bony he was. "Getting all broody and quiet! What are you thinking?"

Well, he wasn't about to talk to her about his family again… "Nothing in particular, I suppose."

"Hogwash, I know something is bothering you. Harry, you can tell me anything!" His heart warmed as she said that, and he took another long sip of hot chocolate.

She stared up at him, her innocent freckled gaze marked by her vibrant brown eyes. _Anything, huh?_ "'s really no big deal, I'm just glad to be at Hogwarts," Harry said, and her look became knowing. _But I haven't even mentioned the Dursley…_

"I'm glad you're here too…" She hummed contentedly, tracing the outline of the fire with her finger. "I was afraid Luna would be my only friend when I came here – I mean, she's wonderful, but they call her Loony Lovegood for a reason. I'm just glad I have you and Cleo, and the other girls in our year aren't so bad either."

"It's just..." Harry stared into the mug, trying to see his reflection on the liquid like all of the deep moments he had watched but only finding murky cocoa. "My birthday is on Halloween, in a week, and… well..."

"Your parents?"

Harry nodded. "Aunt Petunia would light a candle, but that's about it. 'Suppose it's just odd, now that I know the truth about them and all. _Everyone_ seems to know about it… Hell, even _Professor Lockhart_ asked me about it, although I suppose that isn't all that surprising given how obsessed he seems to be with me sometimes."

Ginny giggled, asking, "Why, what did he say?"

"Erm, I think it was something along the lines of 'Oh, Harry, we'll simply have to throw a _fabulous_ party for you' and then he prattled on about how he needed a photographer to document his historic mentor-ship of the boy who lived, or something like that."

"What a prat. Anyways, there's no point in worrying over it, I'm certain it'll be fine."

"Now, look at what we've got here."

"If I didn't know better, I'd think our little sister was getting a little too cozy with Harry Potter."

They sat up straight as two identical boys sat on either couch arm. Harry looked back and forth between them for a moment, then gave up trying to find any difference. "You're Fred and George, aren't you?"

"Oh, he knows our names. I'm Fred." The boy on the other side of Ginny stuck out his hand. He tried to shake his arm free, but Ginny mumbled something about being warm and leaned further against him so he settled for awkwardly shaking with his other hand.

"Perceptive, really. I'm also Fred," the other Weasley said, and she rolled her eyes as Harry shook his hand too.

"Can I just call you Freds then?" asked Harry, wanting to argue but feeling the lull of the fire luring him to sleep.

"But what about George?" the twins chorused.

"Anyways, no fun lying around on a rainy day."

"Too many pranks to play, you know?"

"Think they're asleep, George?"

"They sure are, George."

Two mugs of hot chocolate rested side by side, glowing by the firelight as the two first years peacefully slept together without a care in the world.

* * *

 **[A/N] If I had to describe this chapter in one word, I would say cozy. There's just something about that image of Ginny and Harry snuggling by the fire place with hot chocolate that just makes me feel warm and happy.**

 **This fic is practically theraputic to me, and I hope you guys love these little bits of fluff as much as I do :) Thank you so much to SilverRockets, TheWateringWizard, JD4320, GinnyPotter6891, and scrappy8 for reviewing – your lovely feedback means the world to me!**

 **Much Love, Allie**


	6. Of Snakes And, Well, More Snakes

The Day Our Paths Crossed (And The Things That Came Of IT)

Chapter Six – Of Snakes And, Well, More Snakes

* * *

Something was wrong with Ginny.

Harry wasn't quite sure how he knew – he had never had a very good sense of what others were thinking – but she had started to drift away from him. The extreme closeness seemed to fade as October wore on, and she spent less time with him. At first, he was afraid she had found other friends, but after a few people came up to him and asked him what was wrong with her, he changed his mind. She was distant, moody, and always distracted. Worst of all, she had gotten less competitive, and she had lost the top spot in Charms to Gala Ruggenspore, of all people!

In short, she wasn't his Ginny.

"You're right," Cleo mused as they sat together in a cloister he and Ginny had discovered on the fourth floor. "She's definitely been acting strange."

Harry looked at her with worried eyes. "Do you know anything about it?" he demanded, and she shook her head and sighed.

"I'm Slytherin but I don't know _everything_ , Harry. I can ask around, but you're closer to her than I am." She leaned back on the mossy marble, tracing the clouds in the sky. "You should talk to her. You two are best friends, she'll listen to you."

Harry groaned, but he resolved to take Cleo up on her advice.

The next morning, when Ginny got up early from the breakfast table and announced she was going to study, he followed her. Her red hair swayed behind her as she hurried from the Great Hall. Harry stared mournfully at the bacon left on his plate, then pushed it aside and ran after her. She disappeared around a corner and he dashed after her, nearly tripping as Peeves floated out of the wall.

"What's this? An ickle firsty, running in the halls? Better tell Filch!" the ghost cackled.

"Go away, Peeves! This is important!" Harry shouted, turning the corner only to careen straight into Ginny. They staggered away from each other, the redhead staring at him in dazed confusion.

"Harry? What are you doing?" she asked.

Harry put his hands on his knees, fighting to catch his breath. _What am I doing?_ "I… You've been acting weird, lately," he huffed, pulling his hair back out of his face. "I asked Cleo, and she should said I should talk to you."

Ginny stared at him. "Weird? What are you talking about? You were the one running after me," she said, an accusatory tone creeping into her voice. "I was just going to the library to study."

Harry furrowed his brow. "But the library is on the other side of the castle."

Ginny shrugged. For the first time, Harry noticed a small black book held carefully between her arm and her chest. It looked old yet untouched, with no markings on the cover. "I had to get some books from the common room."

That made sense to Harry. "Oh, okay." _I knew she was just studying!_ "I guess we do have to get back at Gala, right? Can I come too?"

Shifting her weight to her other foot, he face lit up with sudden uncharacteristic anger. "You know I don't have to do everything with you, Harry!" she yelled. "Maybe I just want to go to the library alone for once. You're worse than Mum, so stop clinging to me all the time!"

Harry gaped at her, cringing at her words. He hadn't been shouted at since arriving at Hogwarts, but the memories of Uncle Verson still rose fresh and unbidden in his mind. Did he really cling to her? Did she really not want him around? Hanging his head, he began slowly trodding to the Great Hall before he stopped.

No. That wasn't Ginny. Ginny would never be so mean to anyone, especially not him.

Something was _really_ wrong with his best friend.

* * *

Hermione Granger sat in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, surrounded by a pile of books. One opened scroll and two sealed ones laid at her feet, and her nose was stuck seven hundred and fifty-six pages deep into _Hogwarts, A History_. The bushy-haired witch was busy plotting out her History of Magic essay when a timid voice interrupted her. "Um, Hermione?"

She looked up to see Harry Potter standing in front of her and frowned. Hermione hadn't really know what she had expected of the Boy-Who-Lived, but it certainly wasn't the frail, clearly malnourished boy before her. She had never really talked to him beyond small talk, so she was taken aback by him approaching her. _Nobody_ approached her, really, just Ron and sometimes Neville. "Hi, Harry. Need something?" she asked cautiously.

He nodded uncertainly. "I, um… Something's wrong with Ginny and I don't know what to do," he blurted out after a moment.

"Ginny?" Hermione repeated, searching for anything wrong with Ron's sister and drawing a blank. She knew Ron's sister and Harry were close, but had never given it much thought. "Why are you telling me?"

Harry shrugged. "I told Cleo and she told me I knew her best, and I tried to talk to her and she yelled at me. It's not… Ginny. I'm worried something bad is happening."

Hermione shivered at his tone. _Something bad…_ "You should tell a teacher," she said immediately, thinking of Professor McGonnagal. To her surprise, Harry seemed to recoil at the suggestion, with drawing back into his shell. She waited for a long moment for him to respond, then frowned at the scared eleven-year-old. _I guess that's a no then._ Changing tack, she carefully asked, "Why are you talking to me?"

"I..." Harry stared at his feet. "I don't know. Cleo and Luna don't know what to do, and adults… adults don't like me very much. I mean, you're you, right?" He looked up at her hopefully. "You're the Gryffindor Lioness, everybody talks about how you and Ginny's brother got the Special Awards last year. I thought maybe you could help Ginny."

He looked up at her earnestly, and she stared back at him. Harry Potter was asking _her_ for help. She narrowed her eyes determinedly; just because she hated the title her house gave to her didn't mean she wouldn't help someone who really needed it. "If you don't want to tell a teacher, I suppose you know her better than me," she said. "But if you need me for something, come to me and I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Halloween was Harry's least favorite day of the year.

For starters, it was the day his parents had died. The annual reminder that he existed never failed to rile his aunt and uncle up, and he often found himself simply locked in his cupboard for the entire day. To make matters worse, it was also his birthday. _Dudley gets tons of presents,_ he used to think, lying in his cupboard staring at the spiders, _and I get dead parents._

All of that was before he discovered that Halloween seemed to be National Boy-Who-Lived day as well.

In the week leading up to Halloween, he was accosted by kids he had never met in his entire life. He got presents from random people, including some hexed ones from ill-meaning Slytherins. It was rather overwhelming, and he found himself trying to hide in the tower as much as possible. That didn't really work, as Colin was one of his worst fans. Every so often, he would hear the click of a camera's shutters and groan, cursing his bad luck for getting the world's most annoying eleven-year-old as his only roommate.

Cleo wasn't sympathetic to his plight. "Honestly, I don't understand why you're so upset about this," she grumbled. "I mean, it sucks about your parents, but I would kill for that attention – do you have any idea how hard it is to make friends as a Slytherin?"

"That's why you're a Slytherin," he grumbled, looking away.

In the chaos, Ginny drew even more distant.

Finally, Halloween arrived. Harry wandered through the day in a haze, ignoring well-wishers. Luckily, he didn't have Snape that day, and the rest of his teachers all seemed to sense his discomfort and tactfully didn't breach the subject. He and Ginny barely spoke in Charms – they both had mastered Leviosa and Lumos weeks ago, so they were practicing Incendio in the corner on targets Flitwick had conjured. Before long, it was time for the feast.

The Great Hall was beautifully decorated, candles spiraling around the magicked sky and floating jack-o-lanturns. Food covered the tables, and many of the students were already jovially eating and talking. As much as Harry wished he could be anywhere else, the sight still took his breath away. He sat down next to Ginny, who was blankly poking at her turkey. Cleo waved at him from Slytherin and he could see Luna eating at the end of the Ravenclaw table, the seats on either side of her empty. Ron and Hermione were conspicuously absent, and he could only wonder what sort of nonsense they had gotten themselves into.

Sighing, he looked back at Ginny. "You're not eating," he said in concern, loading up his own plate and getting a glass of pumpkin juice. "Ginny, you have to eat..."

She nodded jerkily, mechanically shoveling a bit of food into her mouth then setting her fork down.

Harry frowned, placing a hand on Ginny's arm and leaning towards her. "Do you need me to tell someone something?" he whispered.

"Don't. Please." Ginny squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them and gave him a faded smile. "I'm fine, Harry. See?" She grabbed a roll and took a big bite, and Harry just stared at her. Her face was too pale, the rings under her eyes too deep.

"I guess so..."

Ginny got to her feet and stepped away from the table, the bread crumpling in her grip. "I… I'm not feeling well," she announced, giving Harry a slightly guilty look. "I need to use the restroom." Picking the black book from her seat and slipping it under her arm, she left the hall.

As soon as she left the Great Hall, Harry stood up and stealthily followed her. Something told her she wasn't going to the bathroom – maybe it was how weird she had been acting, or the book, or maybe the tingling in his scar. Either way, he speed-walked out of the hall, just catching the ends of her robes as she turned down a corridor.

Ginny led him up a stairwell through a series of corridors he had never been in before on the second floor. _When did she have time to explore this part of the castle? We never came here, and we_ always _explore together._ Ginny disappeared into an old room with an old wooden door, and Harry skidded to a stop as he read the sign on the door: _Women_.

Harry was paralyzed. Ginny _was_ going to the bathroom! Maybe he shouldn't have followed her after all. Disheartened, he was turning around to try and find his way back to the hall when a horrible grinding noise came from inside the bathroom.

 _I suppose I'm checking on her after all._ The tingling in Harry's scar grew worse, and he cautiously drew his wand before going inside.

The bathroom clearly was not used. The stalls were falling apart, mold coating the sides. The only part that caught his attention was the sinks, where one of them was slowly covering up a gaping dark hole. He dashed forwards, trying to get there before it closed entirely. With barely a wide enough gap to fit through, he ignored his fear of getting crushed and threw himself down the dark chute.

 _Ginny, what are you doing?_

The chute was _slimy_. Harry spun and slid uncontrollable down the abyss, clinging to his wand desperately. Before he could properly panic, though, he popped out into open air and fell to the hard ground. Wincing, he painfully picked himself up, pushing his glasses back up his nose. The dark was cloying. With a trembling voice, he picked up his wand and said, "Lumos!"

Gentle light illuminated the stone tunnel. Animal bones littered the floor, but Harry did his best to ignore his surroundings. All he knew was that Ginny would never come down to a place like this alone, not in a million years. Wasting no more time, he quickly walked down the tunnel and took a turn.

Ginny stood with her back to Harry, inspecting an ornately carved round door with snakes on it. When his light turned the corner, she turned around and stared at him. Ginny considered him, casually playing with her wand, then smirked. "Potter."

"You're not Ginny." Harry clutched his wand before him, trembling. He had come this far, but he hadn't been so scared in his entire life. Violent pain shot through his scar, nearly forcing him to double over. Recovering, he asked, "Who are you?"

Ginny laughed, a cold harsh laugh, and shrugged her robes off her back. "Honestly, I didn't think you would figure it out," she said. The dissonance of hearing Ginny's voice so cruel hurt Harry, and he wanted more than anything for the whole day, month, to just be a dream. "When I learned that Ginny's lovely best friend was Harry Potter, I _so_ looked forward to getting to know you. Imagine my… disappointment when you were just a frail boy who could barely hold a wand. Although, I must commend your bravery on following Weasley down here. Rather Gryffindor of you, really."

Harry shook his head. "I don't understand."

"Of course you don't. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to do that deal with a first-year who knows nothing of magic." Turning away from Harry, Ginny returned her attention to the door.

Moments later, Harry dashed towards her and made a wild grab for her wand.

Sighing, Ginny idly stepped out of the way. "I was hoping you would surprise me," she said. "Clearly, I have to deal with you first. Have you even learned spells yet?"

"I know enough," Harry said angrily. "I'm fourth in our charms class!"

"Of course, your little competition. All Ginny ever talks about, really. She was so upset when that Ravenclaw overtook her." Ginny held her wand out to one side. "I ought to give you credit, you did manage to defeat me once. I hope you're ready to duel, Harry Potter."

Harry took a step back, his mind whirling. _Who have I defeated before? There's… Oh no._ "Voldemort?" he asked weakly. "But I thought you were dead!"

Voldemort laughed again. "Do you honestly think an infant could kill me? Your mother's magic was a setback, of course, but hardly a fatal one."

Harry glared at the Dark Lord who had killed his parents, the one inhabiting Ginny's body. All of the pent up anger and emotion he had been holding back all day erupted, and he yelled, "Get out of her body!"

Voldemort's expression turned ugly. "This is becoming a nuisance." Lifting Ginny's wand, he sneered, "Defend yourself."

Harry flung himself out of the way as a jet of magic flew towards him. He was in a magical fight; he had never even cast a spell against another person! Plus, it was Ginny – how was he supposed to attack Ginny?

"Crucio!" Harry barely leaped out of the way as Voldemort's spell missed his mark. He didn't know it, but the incantation sounded sinister and he decided getting hit by a Dark Lord was a bad idea. Of course, he only knew three spells, so his chances of making it out of the corridor alive were low.

 _I can't keep dodging,_ he thought, his stomach angrily grumbling at the thought of his dinner left uneaten upstairs. A spark of inspiration hit him. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

A rock flew into the path of Voldemort's oncoming spell, and they both shattered. The dark wizard seemed surprised he had cast a spell at all, and Harry took the opportunity to clamber back to his feet. "Ginny, please, are you in there?" he called.

Hesitation seemed to cross Ginny's face, then for a brief moment, her expression turned back to normal. "Ha-" Then the sign of Ginny was gone, and Voldemort returned.

"You're ruining this, Potter," Voldemort snarled. His spare hand went to Ginny's pocket, where Harry could see the corner of the black book sticking out. _It's the book!_ he realized. Before he could come up with a plan to grab it, Voldemort lifted his wand again. "Bombarda!"

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

This time, the spell exploded against Harry's rock, and he staggered backward. Exhaustion threatened to overtake him, and he knew he had to do something drastic if he wanted to save himself or Ginny. "Ginny, please, if you're in there you have to help me!" he yelled as the dust cleared.

"She can't help you no-" Voldemort started to say, then he stiffened. Ginny's face rapidly shifted through expressions as she fought the dark lord, her wand trembling in her hand.

 _I'm so sorry, Ginny._ Not daring to give Voldemort the time to recover, Harry raised his wand and shouted, "Incendio!" Ginny screamed as her shoes were set on fire, and he wanted to kill Voldemort for forcing him to hurt his friend. Not wasting any time, he sprinted forwards, ducked under a sloppily cast curse, and yanked the wand out of her hand and the book from her pocket. Winding back, he chucked the diary as far down the corridor as he possibly could.

As soon as he did, Ginny collapsed to the ground. Harry stared at her body for a few moments – he had just fought Voldemort! - before registering that she was still on fire. He panicked for a long moment, then remembered what he had learned in school. "I need to get rid of the oxygen!" he exclaimed, proud of himself for remembering science class, then grabbed her robe and pressed it down over her smoldering feet for a moment. He waited a minute, then pulled it off to reveal that sure enough, the fire had gone out.

Harry checked that she was still alive, breathing a sigh of relief to hear her breath. Stepping back, his stomach twisted as he looked at her blackened shoes and ankles. _I did that._ Stumbling away, he had to be sick into the thin gutter lining the side of the hall. What little remained of his lunch came up, and he clenched his eyes shut and pressed his head against the wall.

He had just fought Voldemort and won.

Happy twelfth birthday?

Staggering back to his feet, he stared desolately at Ginny's feet. Had there been anything else he could have done, anything at all? No, and it was a miracle he had managed to beat him at all. _If Ginny hadn't fought back..._ If he had known more spells, literally anything other than the fire spell and the levitation spell, he could have avoided hurting Ginny.

In that moment, Harry resolved to get strong enough that nobody would ever be able to hurt him or his friends again.

His anger returning, he stalked down the corridor until he found where he had thrown the book. Lifting his wand, he yelled, "You made me hurt Ginny! Incendio!" Fire burst from his wand and hit the book, but for some reason, it refused to burn. It simply sat in the flames, unmoving.

Feeling his magic depleting, Harry stepped back and released the spell. The book stared back at him, unchanged. _If Voldemort really possessed Ginny, he must still be in there._ Returning to Ginny's side, he began to search for a way out, avoiding the book and the door Voldemort had tried to get into.

The tunnel they had slid down in seemed to stretch endlessly upwards. Looking up it with Lumos, Harry's heart sank. "How are we supposed to get back up that?" he asked the air. His voice echoed up the pipe, and his eyes lit up. "HELP!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. His voice reverberated up the pipe.

Hope sparking in his chest, Harry jogged back to where Ginny was. Lifting her into the air with Wingardium Leviosa, he carefully drew her over the book to the foot of the pipe, then started to scream again.

Five minutes later, he had run his voice raw and had begun to lose hope when a ghost poked her head out of the wall. She gasped when she saw the duo. "What are you two doing down here? I heard you from my bathroom, how did you get into the pipes?!"

Harry nearly cried in relief. "You found us! Please, you have to go get Professor Dumbledore to get us out of here! Ginny's been injured!"

The ghost gasped as she saw Ginny's burst feet. "Oh…" Just as fast her mood turned pouty. "Why me? Everyone keeps asking me to do everything today – Myrtle, go to Nick's Deathday! Myrtle, go find the headmaster!"

Harry gaped at Myrtle. "We could die down here!"

"Oh, yeah, let's remind the ghost she's dead!" Myrtle said hysterically. "Nobody ever visits me, anyways. Why should I help you?"

Gritting his teeth, Harry thought about strangling the ghost, then had a better idea. "I could visit you."

Like a switch, Myrtle's mood flipped once more. "Ooh, you can share my stall with me! _Fine,_ I'll go and find Professor Dumbledore for you." The ghost spun up the pipe talking to herself, and Harry blinked.

 _No WAY am I visiting her in her awful bathroom._

It wasn't until he got back to Ginny's side that he realized just how tired he was. Sitting down at her side, he rested his head and arms on her stomach and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The infirmary was bright and sunny in the morning light. Harry groaned as he slowly came to. He felt well-rested, any lingering exhaustion completely washed away. Suddenly he remembered the events of the night before. _Ginny!_

"Ah, Harry, my boy, you're awake."

Harry looked over to see Albus Dumbledore sitting at his bedside. His eyes widened. "Headmaster! Ginny-"

"Miss Weasley is perfectly safe," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye, gently directing Harry's gaze to the next bed over. "Madame Pomfery was able to deal with the burns easily enough. Unfortunately, your friend has suffered some mental trauma as a result of her interaction with that dark artifact, but she should be able to return to class by the end of the week."

"Trauma?" Harry repeated, not recognizing the word.

"Dark magic always leaves a mark, Harry," Dumbledore explained patiently. "Your scar is as good as proof of that as anything."

"So Ginny will have a scar too?" he asked concernedly.

Chuckling, Dumbledore shook his head, then grew more serious. "I'm afraid not. She will, however, most likely need therapy to recover from this incident. I hope I can rely on your help with that."

Harry flushed. "Of course, she's my best friend," he mumbled, worried whether that would still be true after all of this. _I set her on fire!_

"Now, why don't you tell me exactly what happened?" the headmaster asked.

"Ginny's been acting weird lately, and I was worried," Harry said. "She left during the feast and I followed her. She went into the bathroom on the second floor and I didn't want to follow but then I heard this weird grinding noise. I followed into the pipe and I found her standing at the weird snake door. And then..."

"And then?" Dumbledore asked as he trailed off.

Harry gulped. "She… she was possessed by Voldemort." Dumbledore's eyes widened. "I tried to steal her wand before he could use it, but he attacked me. He used some curses I had never heard of, um..." He thought hard, trying to remember the incantations. "I think he said Crucio and Bombardi, maybe? Then he also made spells without saying anything – I didn't even know that was _possible_."

He looked up, and the Headmaster's face was grave. "Bombarda is the explosion charm. We don't teach it until fourth year. And you must never, ever try to use the other curse."

"Why?"

Dumbledore sighed. "You are far too young to have faced such a horrifying curse, Harry. I wish you did not need to know this. Crucio is one of the three Unforgivable curses. It causes unbearable pain, and using it is enough to earn a life sentence in prison." His eyes softened. "We are lucky you are still here with us, if Voldemort was willing to resort to such means on a twelve-year-old. How did you defeat him?"

Harry bit his lip, digesting everything he had just been told. "I used Wingardium Leviosa to block his curses," he whispered. "And Ginny was fighting him too. I- She got control for a second, so I- I set her shoes on fire with Incendio and stole her wand and the book. Once I threw the book away, she just collapsed." A panicked realization crossed his mind. "Is it still down there?!"

"No, it has been safely secured for study before we destroy it." Dumbledore shook his head. "Such courage and quick thinking is all we can ask of a Gryffindor. I will be sure to discuss this withand the rest of the staff, but I would appreciate it if you could keep this matter relatively private. Seventy points to Gryffindor for you, Harry."

Harry's face fell, and he looked away from Dumbledore. "But I hurt Ginny."

"You may have hurt Miss Weasley, but in the process, you managed to save both of your lives," Dumbledore said, kindly resting an arm on Harry's shoulder. "You shouldn't blame yourself. You did the best thing possible, even though perhaps you ought to notify the staff next time you run after a dark wizard. I'm sure Ginny will forgive you."

Harry let himself fall back into the bed, tired again. "I guess so..."

Dumbledore gave him a smile. "You've had a long twenty-four hours. Rest. You may stay here as long as you or Miss Weasley needs. You've certainly given me plenty to think about."

Nodding tiredly, Harry fell back asleep before he could thank the professor. Albus watched over his sleeping form for a long while, then nodded to himself and left the Hospital Wing undisturbed.

* * *

"Harry!"

Harry was awoken suddenly in the middle of the night by Ginny. She was crying as she threw her arms around him, squeezing tightly, red hair cascading down her back. "Ginny?"

"I'm so sorry, I was so awful to you!" she bawled into his shirt. "He was in my head and I was losing control and I was so worried that he would push you away and then you came and you saved me thank you thank you thank you!"

He hugged her back, not knowing what to think. "I was afraid you were going to leave me alone," he whispered. "I'm just glad that was him and not you. You're my best friend, of course I followed you."

"Harry-" Ginny broke down again, and he started to cry as well.

"I hurt you. I had to hurt you to beat him. I-"

"I don't care," Ginny said fiercely through her tears. "You saved me and you beat him. I thought I was going to die."

"I couldn't let you die," Harry whispered. "You're my first best friend. I could never let you die."

After that night, something unbreakable grew between Harry and Ginny – not magical, just the deep trust that could only be found by saving each other's lives. By an unspoken agreement, the topic of Voldemort and the book was simply dropped altogether. They both had had enough evil in their lives to last the rest of the year.

* * *

 **[A/N] Been a while, but my plot bunnies led me back to this story :) I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I promise the fluff will return in full force next chapter. Just need to sprinkle a little plot in to keep it interesting.**

 **Thank you to** **JD4320, GinnyPotter6891, triggbc, Scrappy8, TheWateringWizard, SilverRockets, Gin110881, TimeShifter, RAVENCLAWDISTRICT1, and a guest for reviewing!**

 **Much love,**

 **Allie**


	7. Some Things Are Waiting For Us

The Day Our Paths Crossed (And The Things That Came Of It)

Chapter Seven: Some Things Are Waiting For Us (If Only We Would Look)

* * *

After "The Incident," as it came to be called, both Harry and Ginny threw themselves back into school life with renewed excitement. Ginny had gaps in her memory from the past month, but found that her practical wand work improved tenfold. Harry was jealous of her newfound skill until he remembered that she had been _possessed by his parent's killer,_ after which he simply tried as hard as he could to catch back up with her help. Ginny's new skill sent them both straight back to the top of charms class, to the complete dismay of poor Gala Ruggenspore.

Harry quickly realized just how much he had _missed_ spellcraft. Without Ginny to push him, he had spent more time worrying about her than her studies. Working ahead in _The Standard Book of Charms, Year One_ again made it easier to forget the events of October.

In their spare time, Harry and Ginny had begun to explore Hogwarts. They had discovered wonderful things, too. On each floor, there was a dilapidated old broom closet that actually led to a spiraling staircase lit by jars of bluebell flames that rose from the dungeons to the seventh floor. Ginny had been gleeful when she had seen the spell, and Ceruleum Inflamari quickly became one of her favorite spells when she found it towards the back of their charms book. Another amazing quirk had come when Harry had accidentally bumped into a painting of a desert buffet on the second floor. To their amazement, it had swung open to reveal a chocolate cake. Harry had hesitantly taken a bite and immediately decided he had never eaten better cake in his entire life. To his and Ginny's absolute joy, the missing slice had automatically replenished, and they looked at each other in glee when they realized they had found a never-ending supply of cake.

The best discovery, though, was the room that would become their own – the Hearth Room.

No classes were held the fourth floor. It had been magically expanded to the point where there was a warren of rooms – clubrooms, study rooms, disused elective space, and was larger than most people at Hogwarts had ever cared to discover. Ginny, of course, had nearly died from delight and immediately insisted they explore it all. All of the used room were clustered near the main staircase on the west side of the castle, so they struck east. It wasn't until they were walking through a dusty corridor on the north-east side that a tapestry caught their eye.

A beautiful young woman sat at the edge of a fire, tending to the boiling pot held over the flames. She waved her hand and the flames turned a beautiful purple, making Ginny gasp. The woman looked up and her mouth made an 'o' when she saw the duo. "Students?" she asked.

Harry nodded as Ginny enthusiastically blurted out, "Yeah! I'm Ginny and he's Harry, what's your name?"

The woman laughed and rose from her fire, taking up the full height of the tapestry. "Such enthusiasm! My name is Hestia, children. It has been a century since I have been approached by children like you… What was his name…? Oh, yes, Albus! I remember him well. Tell me, is he still the transfiguration professor?"

Harry looked at Hestia with wide eyes. How old was the portrait? He knew Ginny said portraits could visit any other portraits of themselves, so maybe this was the only tapestry of her in the school? "He's the headmaster now," he said, a little timid before the woman's tall countenance.

Hestia smiled kindly to him, and he returned with a smaller smile of his own. "We were exploring the fourth floor," Ginny exclaimed. "Nobody ever comes to this side, so we figured there's got to be tons of secrets!" She launched into a long-winded explanation of the cake painting, and Harry and Hestia both watched her fondly.

When Ginny finished speaking, Hestia winked at the two first years. "I do know one secret," she said mischievously. She knelt at the corner of the tapestry and pulled at a rope, and Ginny gasped as she pulled the tapestry back, revealing a wooden door behind. Hestia nodded. "Go ahead," she said, gesturing at the door.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, then stepped inside with wide grins.

The room was a cozy circled crowned by the fireplace on the far wall. Soft red light glowed against the walls, and some of the squishiest couches Harry had ever seen were around the fireplace. One side of the wall was covered with old books, a painting of a starry ancient night on the Mediterranean stretching from the door to the chimney. On the other side of the room, there was open space instead of fluffy carpet with all kinds of dueling practice material scattered around.

"Welcome to my hearth," Hestia said, entering into a portrait above the fire with open arms. "Now that you know where this is, it is yours to use for as long as you are at Hogwarts. Practice your spells, study – even sleep or eat if you should need it. This space is for the two of you."

Harry and Ginny stared at her in amazement. "Really?"

"Really."

The duo took one look at each other, then made a dash for the couches. Exploring the rest of the castle could wait. For now, there was an _epic_ pillow fight that needed to happen.

Satisfied, Hestia settled back into her frame and started tending to her hearth again, only this time with a broad smile on her face. Nothing warmed up a room like over-enthusiastic children, and she was looking forwards to an interesting seven years.

* * *

The pebble game had evolved from trying to knock each other's pebble out of the air. Now, Ginny and Harry furiously chased after a used snitch Fred and George had given them to practice. The golden ball fluttered around their heads tauntingly, and Ginny and Harry were jostling each other for the best view as their stones zoomed after it.

"Can't we play another game?" Cleo asked, pulling her robes tighter around her to keep out the late fall chill. "It's so cold!"

Harry looked at her for a moment, and Ginny took the opportunity to knock his stone out of the air with a well-placed Incendio. "Ginny!" he protested as she tagged the confused Snitch grabbed it with her spare hand. "That's no fair!"

Ginny just stuck her tongue out at him and waggled the snitch. "Better luck next time!"

Clapping came from behind them. Harry turned to see Professor Flitwick walking towards them, a broad smile across his face. "Bravo, you two!" he called, making his way towards them. "Miss Weasley, your control has remarkably improved. Clearly you both have been practicing."

Harry ducked his head bashfully, and Ginny held hers high. "Thank you, Professor Flitwick."

Flitwick nodded happily. "In fact, I've been meaning to discuss something with the two of you, and I suppose you could join as well, Miss Moorshade. Do you know what dueling is?"

Ginny and Harry looked at each other – it was Cleo who answered the question. "Of course! Are you going to teach us, professor, because I'm sure they'll be great at it."

"That would be wonderful!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Um… I don't actually know what dueling is?" said Harry, uncomfortable fumbling with his wand.

"Wizard fight, Harry," Ginny said, bouncing on her heels. "You did it whe- ah, I mean, you've probably done it before?"

She and Harry looked at each other guiltily at her slip. Neither of them missed the narrow glance Cleo gave them.

If Flitwick caught onto the slip, he didn't show it. "Well, I mean to ask because in December I'll be starting a dueling club-" Ginny's eyes lit up. "-for the first time in years, and you two have shown more enthusiasm for my class than any teacher could reasonably expect." Filius seemed overjoyed by that fact, proudly looking from Ginny to Harry. "The club will be limited to second years and above, but if you two are interested, I'd be more than happy to make accommodations."

Ginny was practically overflowing with excitement. "Interested? Of course we're interested! Right, Harry?"

"Yeah, sounds fun," Harry agreed.

Cleo rolled her eyes at the duo, shaking her head. "I _suppose_ if my fine Gryffindor friends will be there, I should go as well."

Flitwick winked at them. "Well, then, I'll let you know when our first date will be. I suggest you three learn the stinging jinx, the knockback jinx, and the full-body bind curse before then; I'm sure you'll find it useful. Now, back to your game! Don't let me drag you back inside on such a marvelous day!" Waving a hand, Flitwick started the long walk back to the castle.

Harry grinned at Ginny and Cleo. "Dueling club?"

Ginny gave him an even bigger grin back. "We're going to win, right Harry?

He nodded, his thoughts drifting to Ginny's unconscious form in dark tunnel under the school. "Absolutely." _And then I'll be able to take down anyone who tries to hurt my friends!_

Cleo just shook her head. "Gryffindors..."

"Race to Hagrid's house!" Ginny yelled, pointing triumphantly at the hut across the grounds.

With thoughts of spells and duels racing through their minds, the trio dashed across the grounds, reveling in the late fall sun.

* * *

 **[A/N] And now, back to your regularly scheduled fluff~ Harry and Ginny find Cozy Room (tm) and Flitwick's always looking for great ways to challenge his best students! Next time – Duels!**

 **Thank you to swanglade37, TheWateringWizard, scrappy8, triggbc, GinnyPotter6891, JD4320, smallwjl, and Gin110881 for reviewing! Leave me some cozy reviews please :)**

 **Check me out on Tumblr allisonilluminated!**

 **Much Love, Allie**


	8. When The Fire Is Lit

The Day Our Paths Crossed (And The Things That Came Of It)

Chapter Eight – When the Fire is Lit (They'd Be Smart to Move)

* * *

Harry _really_ hadn't liked the look on Ginny's face when she had dragged the book of jinxes into the Hearth Room a week ago.

Now, it seemed as though he was one hundred percent justified in his fears.

"Harry Potter! The dueling club's first meeting is _tomorrow_ and I refuse to lose to the Ravenclaws again!" Ginny scolded him as he waved his wand over his feet, ungluing his toes from each other. "We're supposed to be the _best_ , remember?"

He shot Ginny a look and dragged himself into the nearest armchair. "Ginny, don't you think we've practiced enough? I mean, _blimey,_ we're only first years. It's not like we're working on our OWLs or anything!"

Ginny was his best friend, but she could be so troublesome sometimes! The look she shot him was venomous as she followed his lead, sitting down. "You _promised_ that we'd win-"

"And we will. I haven't studied so much in my entire life!" Harry shook his head. "Besides, the only people who stand a chance in our year are Cleo and Gala Ruggenspore, and we _know_ we're better at dueling than both of them. Can't we just give it a break tonight?"

"But-"

"You do look rather harried, dear," the portrait of Hestia over the fireplace said. "Why don't you both go get some rest?"

Ginny looked ready to argue, but she slumped down and sighed instead. "Yeah, yeah, fine. We'll go back to the dorm." Jumping to her feet, she stomped toward the door.

Harry and the portrait exchanged a look. Groaning, he shoved his wand into the waistband of his pants and ran after Ginny. _Seriously, she's gone mental._ By the time he caught up with her, she was already halfway down the hallway, laser-focused on the way ahead. He waited a moment for her to acknowledge him next to her.

"What's got you so riled?"

Ginny shot him a look and he paused – it wasn't just offended, it was _hurt._ Without another word, she huffed and kept walking.

"Ginny!"

Harry knew he wasn't the most emotionally intelligent person. People had to tell him things directly two or three times before he really got them. Maybe that was a side effect of not growing up with close friends, but that was just how he was. Ginny was the opposite – all opinion and passion. Moments like these confused him to no end. _She'll tell me eventually, right?_

 _She didn't with the journal…_ _I had to figure it out myself._

Just another thing for Harry to puzzle out.

* * *

"Welcome to the first meeting of the dueling club!"

Cheers filled the air when Gilderoy Lockhart stepped onto the podium at the front of the crowded great hall, purple dress robes and all, as the head of dueling club. Harry hung his head. "Oh no," Ginny muttered. "And- is that _Snape_?"

Snape slunk onto the stage after Lockhart; more than usual, the greasy professor looked ready to curse somebody on a moment's notice. Oblivious, Lockhart shot the crowd a brilliant smile. "Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club..."

Ginny leaned in toward Harry as Lockhart blathered on about Snape being his assistant. She had been hot and cold toward him since the night in the Hearth Room; today, at least, she had been more excited about the dueling club than anything else. "How long do you figure it takes before Snape hexes Lockhart off the stage?"

On stage, Lockhart and Snape were bowing to each other. Snape stalked several paces away and swirled around, wand pointed at the defense professor. Lockhart looked vaguely scared for a moment before regaining his composure.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combat position," Lockhart told the crowd. "On the count of three, we will count our first spells. Neither of us will be casting to kill, of course."

Harry leaned back to Ginny. "I give it five seconds."

"Go!"

" _Expelliarmus!"_

Lockhart flew off the stage and collided with a suit of armor. The room burst out laughing.

"What an utter git," Ginny muttered. " _I_ could beat him in a duel."

"You could beat half of the people in here in a duel," said Harry. "Honestly, I've watched sixth years with worse wandwork than you."

"Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me-"

As Snape moved towards the first years, Harry and Ginny shifted closer together. Unfortunately, Snape caught sight of them and made a beeline toward them before Lockhart could reach them.

"Time to split up the dream team, I think," he sneered. "Potter-"

"Really, I think Ginny's the closest to my skill level," Harry said honestly, looking up at Snape's crooked nose.

Snape's expression darkened further. "Five points from Gryffindor for disrespecting a professor. And if you think you're so special… Mr. Malfoy, come over here!"

Draco Malfoy looked very confused for a second – his eyes settled on Harry, and he smirked. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Harry Potter," he sneered in a tone reminiscent of Snape. "Harper's told me that you've been sullying up Moorshade's company. We'll have to do something about that."

Harry shrunk back. Draco Malfoy was a second year! Worse, he had heard stories from Cleo about how he practically already ran Slytherin house. How was he supposed to duel him? "Uh, sir…?"

Ginny was more direct. "You can't do that, sir! Malfoy is a second year, Harry can't duel him!"

"That will be another five points from Gryffindor," Snape said silkily. "And you, Miss Weasley, may duel Millicent Bullstrode. I suggest you don't talk back to me again."

He swept away, leaving a very nervous Harry staring at a taller, older Malfoy. Ginny took one look at Millicent, who was massive for her age and looked mean, and eeped. Shooting a panicked look at Harry, she held up her head and walked over. Harry got her message crystal clear. _Be brave, we're better than them._

"Staring, Potter?" Draco took a menacing step toward him. "I'd expect no less from a half-blood like you."

Harry gulped. "Actually, Malfoy, I was planning how I was going to beat you."

Malfoy's eyes widened, then narrowed. Before he could retort, Lockhart's voice rose over the crowd. "Wands at the ready! When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents-"

"You're going to regret that, Potter," Malfoy hissed.

"Three! Two!"

Chaos.

Whatever spell Malfoy shot at Harry was _not_ a stunner, so he responded in kind. " _Ricumsemptra!"_

 _"Tarantellegra!"_

Harry dodged the spell and it collided with Hannah Abbott behind him. Malfoy couldn't hold back his uncontrollable laughter anymore; sinking to the ground, he wheezed with a violent glower. _"Expelliarmus!"_

Malfoy's wand sailed into Harry's hand just as Snape shouted " _Finite Incantatum!"_

It took Malfoy a second to realize that Harry had beaten him, but when he did, he looked as though he had swallowed a rotten egg. Across the room, scenes of absolute chaos had unfolded. Ginny was holding Millicent Bulstrode at arm's length with a _protego,_ the other girl trying to physically attack her and get her wand back from Ginny's hand. Across the room, Cleo had neatly disarmed Harper – Ron had somehow managed to turn Hermione's hair into a purple afro – Neville Longbottom was profusely apologizing to Luna Lovegood for turning her radishes into carrots (Luna seemed very upset.)

"I think I'd better teach you how to _block_ unfriendly spells," Lockhart proclaimed, staring at the scenes around him. "Let's have a voluteer pair- Johnson and Weasley, how about you-"

Fred Weasley and Angelina Johnson both perked up until Snape raised his voice. "A bad idea, Professor Lockhart. The Weasley is liable to leave the room worse off than it is now. I will not be brewing another round of voice-correction potions today." Snape narrowed his eyes at Malfoy's wand in Harry's hand. "Malfoy and Potter!"

"Excellent idea!" Lockhart proclaimed cheerfully. "Oh, and look- Harry's already beat a second year! I'm sure Mr. Malfoy will want a rematch, of course- Come up here, boys!"

Laughter filled the room- Malfoy had lost to a first year? Fred and George in particular whistled at Harry as he passed, earning a grin from him in return. Malfoy flushed bright red and ignored Snape's glare. "He cheated!"

Ginny shot Harry an encouraging glance, and he waved back.

"Now, Harry," said Lockhart. "When Draco points his wand at you, you do-"

Harry blushed and cut him off. "Actually, sir, I already know _protego_."

Snape and Lockhart blinked in surprise. "Do you? Wonderful! I would expect no less!" Lockhart proclaimed, some of his thunder gone. "In that case-"

"You'll regret this, Potter," Draco hissed.

"Three- Two- One- Go!"

 _"_ _Serpensortia!"_

 _"Protego!"_

But Draco's spell didn't collided with Harry's shaky shield. Rather, it coalesced into a large black snake on the ground, which started to slither toward Harry. People in the crowd shrieked in fear; Harry just cocked his head at the snake. _Shield spells_ should _stop animals, right?_

Snape sighed in evident disappointment. "Don't move, Potter. I'll get rid of it."

"Allow me!" Lockhart proudly stepped forward and sent the snake flying into the air. It landed on its stomach and, enraged, slithered right at Justin Finch-Fletchly.

Harry didn't think, just acting. Dropping his shield, he sprinted in between Justin and the snake and looked it right in the eyes. :Don't hurt him!: The snake stopped in place and curled up into a tight coil, staring up at Harry, docile. He smiled, unsure of what had just done but glad that it had worked. He turned back to Justin. "Well, that was close."

Justin stared back in anger and fear. "What the hell do you think you're playing at, Potter?" Turning on his heel, he stomped out of the room.

Snape dispelled the snake into black smoke, a calculating glance Harry didn't like trained upon him. Dark whispers filled the hall. Harry realized with a sinking sense of dread that _everyone_ was staring at him. _What did I do?_ "What?" he asked aloud. "I stopped the snake. He was going to hurt Justin!"

Rather than calm the atmosphere, the people directly around Harry recoiled, making a big berth around him. Draco was staring at him open-mouthed.

Ginny elbowed her way through the crowd and spun around, righteous indignation written all over her face. "Honestly, what are all of you on about?" she yelled, hands on her hips. "You all heard him! He said 'don't hurt him!' So what if the snake listened? Maybe it was accidental magic, or something."

Two people in the back cried out in alarm and fled the hall. "What the hell?!" Ron audibly said.

"The Weasley girl's a parselmouth too!?" one of the upper Slytherin's exclaimed.

The entire Great Hall erupted into furious debate. Ginny and Harry turned and blinked at each other. "What did I do?" Harry asked, bewildered.

Ginny shook her head. "No idea. There's no way I was speaking Parselmouth, no Weasley's ever been related to Salazar Sly… Oh no."

She went pasty white, swaying in place. "Ginny?" Harry asked cautiously.

"No, no, no." Ginny backed away from the crowd like a caged animal. "Harry, we have to go."

"What?"

But before Harry could formulate a sentence, Ginny had already sprinted from the room

* * *

"Ginny! Wait up!"

Harry dashed past the Fat Lady and into the Gryffindor common room, where several confused upper years watched Ginny dart up the first year hall. At the top of the staircase, she hesitated then darted into the boy's dorm room. That gave Harry pause. _If she's going into my dorm room, does that mean she wants to talk?_

When Harry went inside, Ginny was sitting on his bed, staring at the doorway. "Harry?" she whispered.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, moving to sit down next to her. "Why did you run away like that?"

Ginny threw her arms around Harry and pressed her face into his shoulder. Harry flinched. He had gotten more used to physical affection, but every time Ginny hugged him, it felt too much like one of Dudley's chokeholds.

"I thought he was gone."

"Who?

"Tom," Ginny whispered. "I thought Tom was gone. I though Dumbledore took him away, but he didn't. He's still here. He's still in my head."

Harry's eyes widened in alarm. "What? How do you know?"

"I know things I shouldn't. Things about magic. I thought- it was just a side effect of being possessed, but-" Ginny shook her head. "That was Parselmouth, Harry. It's only passed down through Slytherin's bloodline, the ability to talk to snakes. It's _dark_. No Weasley has ever been a part of the Slytherin bloodline, but Tom- Tom could speak Parselmouth. That was how he- he opened the Chamber of Secrets. If I can still use it..."

"Wait, I wasn't speaking English?" Harry asked, astounded.

"No." Ginny hugged him tighter, shaking her head. "I've never heard of a Potter related to Slytherin either, but I suppose it's possible. Have you always…?"

"I sicced a python on Dudley at the zoo last year?"

"Of course you did."

"So what do we do?" Harry let go of Ginny and sat back on his bed; his mind was still awhirl with the implications of knowing another language (French had been hard enough!) and short on solutions.

Ginny shook her head, frantic. "I don't _know_. You _know_ that's why I was upset earlier, don't you? I don't have time to stop or slow down. He possessed me, Harry. He was trying to break me. If he had stayed in my head, he would have succeeded. I have to- It's not even that! I have to be strong enough to fight for things, I always have or else my brothers would get them. If I lost that- If I-"

"You wouldn't be you," Harry said.

"Yeah." Ginny stared down at her hands. "I wouldn't be me."

Neither one of them really knew what to say after that

* * *

 **[A/N] This chapter is less fluffy than last chapter, but I still like it. Ginny is a good influence on Harry; annoying Draco gives me life. The next few chapters after this'll be lighter. Harry not actually destroying the Horcrux will have weird consequences, and I'm all here for it. I really hope you guys don't hate it – I know fluff and plot don't always mesh perfect but I really want to set up some fun stuff later :)**

 **It's been a hot second, but the responses on the last chapter were overwhelmingly wonderful! Thank you all so much for all your awesome reviews, GinnyPotter6891, triggbc, Zeromaru Chaos Mode, TimeShifter, Gellert99, Gin110881, scrappy8, smallwjl, TheWateringWizard, DancingStars45, and hufflepuffiesten for reviewing!**

 **I love you all,**

 **Allie~**


	9. Interlude I

The Day Our Paths Crossed (And The Things That Came Of It)

Chapter Nine – Interlude I

 **[A/N] Our first look at how the AU begins to unfold, with a perspective chapter away from Harry.**

* * *

Albus Dumbledore had not felt so tired in a long time.

All around him, his instruments and knickknacks had fallen silent. Even the portraits of old headmasters were quiet, watching the old headmaster sit at his desk, his temples cradled in his hands, staring at the unassuming black book sitting on his desk. He dared not to touch the book again, not now that he knew its true nature. Only when Fawkes gave a long, mournful trill did Albus lift his head and rise to his feet, turning his back to the book.

 _Oh, Tom, what have you done?_

He knew Tom Riddle had survived that fateful night at the Potters eleven years ago. Albus had suspected it from the moment Voldemort had disappeared, and had confirmed it when he had discovered Hermione Granger, muggleborn first year, unconscious at the foot of the Mirror of Erised, surrounded by the shards of the Philosopher's Stone several feet away from Quirinus Quirrel's dead body. His professors had been complaining about the Granger girl's circumstances all semester – saying she should have been in Ravenclaw, asking if there was any way they could stop the schoolwide torment of the girl who got every question right and headed the class, whether she could find another friend beside Ronald Weasley.

The full implications of that night still hadn't come to light. All Albus knew was that Hermione had faced Voldemort and beaten him, somehow managing to win – he wasn't sure how, considering that she had told him a story full of holes – and live to see the next day. Tom was gone, off in spirit form again, and the girl was Gryffindor's lioness, although nobody beyond the staff quite knew why. If anything, the relative fame had only made her isolation worse.

But now, Albus had solved the puzzle of why Tom had survived, and he did _not_ like the answer.

The diary was a horcrux, some of the most vile magic he had ever had the misfortune to come across. Three days of failed diagnostics had taken him to the point of frustration where he admitted defeat and brought the artifact to Gringotts to be analyzed. The technique, it so turned out, to identify a horcrux, had nothing to do with searching for Light or Dark magic at all – rather, it was a simple matter of isolating signatures within the magical core to determine completeness (a dark magic, soul magic, but it was unavoidable). A normal soul would read as normal. The diary came up as half.

Half a soul. One horcrux. For a short week, Albus had allowed himself to believe the Wizarding World had gotten lucky, that Tom had foolishly allowed his only horcrux into the hands of Ginny Weasley.

Then came the dueling club.

Potters and Weasleys didn't speak parseltongue. That was a universally acknowledged fact. Ginny, at least, Albus could explain away as a side effect of her possession. Parseltongue required magical alteration of the vocal cords, but once altered, the reversion process wouldn't happen naturally. That was explainable. But Harry? Entertaining the possibility that Lily might have been descended from a long-lost magical bloodline, Albus had traveled once more to Gringotts, where, in his vault, he had a collection of blood samples from avowed Order of the Phoenix members in order to conduct certain emergency rituals for dire circumstances (location tracking, mostly, along with select counter-rituals). One blood test later and nothing. Not even a distant magical relative. Lily Evans, Albus supposed with a twinkle in his eye, had been one of those true muggleborns, and how remarkable that she had risen to the power she had.

Unfortunately, that left only one real possibility: Voldemort. Armed with the knowledge of Horcruxes in play, Albus had watched in on a History of Magic class, where Harry and Ginny were sitting in the back, the rest of the class either pointedly ignoring them or whispering in fear. Albus had bit back a sigh. _As if facing Tom wasn't enough… I do hope the dear boy can overcome this. He does well by Miss Weasley, at least._ Binns droned on – he really was going to replace the old ghost, someday – and Harry eventually lost interest and his head slumped to the desk (with the help of one of Albus' subtle sleep charms, of course). Ginny rolled her eyes good-naturedly at him, and went back to idly practicing her transfiguration under her desk. Readying his wand and off-handedly giving Ginny five points for her excellent tea cozy, he cast the detection spell.

The result was close to 100% - close enough that for a moment, Albus believed Harry had dodged a terrible bullet – but still over a hundred. People simply didn't have more than one soul. Harry Potter was a horcrux. And if how small the extra soul bit attached to him was could be any guide, Tom had made well more than two horcruxes.

Albus' search to end Tom's chances of returning to life had just gotten a lot harder.

"Merlin," he muttered, turning the Elder Wand over in his hands. He could nearly feel the Invisibility Cloak's presence in one of his desk drawers. His search for the Resurrection Stone had proved unfruitful. Perhaps Tom- No, he would not allow his thoughts to turn so dark. Maybe it was time the cloak be returned to its rightful owner…

"Language, Albus," Phineas Nigellus chastised, his expression pinched and brooding.

Fawkes chirped in reproach at the painted headmaster, who ignored the phoenix.

There were too many possibilities, too many dead ends. The situation threatened to overwhelm Albus, but the Lord of the Light would not cave so easily. He would solve this. He would protect Harry Potter, who was eleven and deserved none of the hardship he had already faced. Before Miss Granger, before the incident with the diary, Albus might have been tempted to test the boy, if only to ready him for what seemed with each passing day to be more of an inevitability. But he had seen hardship enough. Albus knew where his efforts were needed; he would let Harry be a child, if only for a while longer.

Maybe the prophecy would never come to pass. Maybe, if all the other horcruxes were destroyed, Albus would be able to turn his attention to stripping a horcrux without killing its living vessel. To his knowledge, it had never been done. A fine accomplishment that would be in his old age.

Maybe not…

Albus set Harry from his mind and stared at the diary with a commanding press at his lips. He needed to call on Alastor. It was time to reform the Order of the Phoenix.

* * *

Hermione didn't know what to think when the entire school turned their backs on Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley.

On one hand, she didn't know what to think. She'd spent most of her time at Hogwarts alone, or with nobody else but Ron at her side. She knew that isolation acutely and it hurt. Hermione _knew_ the proper thing, the _Gryffindor_ thing to do would be to go over to the first years and make friends. As stupid and entirely unfounded as her relative fame as the 'lioness' or whatever nonsense her peers were calling her these days was, she knew her interaction might be enough to get her house on Harry and Ginny's side. At the same time, a little voice at the back of her head whispered that doing that might have the opposite effect; she would lose everything she had gained, and any of the exhilarating _acceptance_ she had found would be lost. Ron would follow her no matter what, but she was just too scared to take the jump and do the right thing. Shameful, maybe, but Hermione's social anxiety did the work of making excuses for her.

That was the twelve-year-old logic she followed. But Hermione had always been smarter than her age, and her mind _was_ spinning as she aced her tests and continued to set records for academic prestige.

She'd read about Parseltongue. She'd done her research on Britain's magical families. It made no. damn. sense! Neither Harry nor Ginny should have been able to speak the magical language of snakes. Period.

Hermione had always been a stickler for rules, and the magical world, as nonsensical as it might seem to her non-magical parents, followed a hard set of rules. She hadn't been able to sleep until she'd discovered that. Now, the magical community might not _know_ those rules yet, but Hermione knew they existed, and she had already set about planning how she was going to set them out in hard math and immutable fact, like a magical Isaac Newton. And while it _seemed_ like their Parseltongue broke the rules, Hermione had learned enough to know that thinking was wrong.

Eleven-year-olds didn't break the fundamental laws of the universe. Something else was at play, and she intended to figure out what.

Of course, when she relayed that whole thought process to Ron, he just yawned. "Whatever you say. Honestly, couldn't you just ask my sister if you care so much? Last time I tried to get her away from Potter, she nearly cursed me! And I dunno how she can speak snake now, but I'm not willing to be hexed for a month to find out! Something to do with Potter, I bet."

Because he was clearly right, Hermione scowled. " _Ronald."_

Unrepentant, Ron went back to reading about the Cannons instead of doing his Charms work.

Whatever. Hermione didn't need friends to help her solve mysteries. That's what the library was for, after all. There was always an answer in a book if you knew how to find it.

(and if Hermione let herself be honest about her true motives, late at night, she knew that really, it was the two-faced man in the circle of fire around the Mirror of Erised that really drove her forward. If she didn't do _something_ , then he might start winning in her nightmares, and then Hermione knew she'd never be able to sleep again. She'd help Harry Potter, somehow, even if she did it from afar. She had to.)

* * *

 **[A/N] My take on Dumbledore has always been more to the 'a little gray and well-intentioned' side more than the 'manipulative old codger' side. I think a few changes here and there would have been more than enough for some major changes in canon, and that reflects here. Getting his hands on Tom's diary early? That's big. Dumbledore's brilliant. He won't sit back and wait for the biggest thread to magical society strike first.**

 **And Hermione is brilliant too, but also twelve. Her logic won't be perfect, and it shows.**

 **Hope you guys have been doing wonderful. I've been writing and having a blast, and I enjoy it when I come back to this fic every now and then. If you want to keep up with some writing stuff and whatnot, my Tumblr is Allison Illuminated – check it out.**

 **Thanks to GinnyPotter6891, scrappy8, TimeShifter, TheWateringWizard, JD4320, Gin110881, and a guest for reviewing!**

 **Much love, Allie**


	10. Alone Together

Chapter Ten: Alone Together (And Maybe That's Better)

* * *

The Day Our Paths Crossed (And The Things That Came of It)

Allison Illuminated

* * *

The last month of the fall semester was miserable for Harry.

As he _very_ quickly found out, Parseltongue was a near-universally reviled talent among British wizards. Across all of his classes, kids who were friendly the day before became wary and distrustful. In Herbology, especially, Harry and Ginny received downright hateful looks from some pureblood Hufflepuffs he didn't really know. Worst of all, Draco Malfoy, notorious Slytherin bully from the second year, had been personally responsible for the whole incident and wanted nothing more than to rub it in for the whole student body.

"Looks like the killing curse did more than just addle Potter's head!" Malfoy crowed as he paraded past a stream of first years leaving Charms. "The dark magic wore off on him too! Look, now he's gone and corrupted a Weasel - I didn't even think it was _possible._ " Malfoy seemed genuinely impressed at that last bit. His meaty goons, whose names Harry didn't bother to learn chuckled with him.

"Shut it, Malfoy!" Ginny yelled as the Claws edged away from her. Gala Ruggenspore scowled, as if teetering on the edge of scorning the blatant lie or taking the opportunity to showcase her disdain for the Gryffindors. Intellectual paralysis - a beautiful thing.

"I think it's _wonderful_ ," Luna said dreamily as she drifted past, clutching a spoon in one hand and her wand in the other. "Now you'll be able to talk to all the Crankerous Mimblenewts by the lake!"

Ginny facepalmed as Malfoy laughed harder. "Not helpful, Luna," Harry muttered.

At least the effect seemed less profound on their year in Gryffindor. If anything, a little bit of fear had made Harry's dorm with Colin a bit more pleasant, even if the silence was borderline overwhelming. On Ginny's side, Lucile and her friends, Amara and Kira, seemed to do much the same, ignoring Ginny and leaving her to her own devices.

The only one who was unbothered was the lone Muggleborn girl, Ella Mae, who had quietly gone up to Ginny and Harry in the Common Room and nodded before turning bright red and running away. Harry hadn't known what to make of it.

"She's _so_ shy," Ginny explained under her breath. "But she's brilliant, really. Not at magic - she's practically failing transfiguration. But she speaks a billion languages, and she's good at Muggle Maths. I walked in on her and Kira whispering in Japanese the other day. Apparently she wanted to start Arithmancy two years early, but Dumbledore won't let her unless she gets the rest of her grades up. Only problem is she's too shy to ask for help, so she's just barely getting along. She gets muggle course books in the mail."

Harry hated maths. Still, he frowned. "Should we help her?"

Ginny grimaced and shook her head. "And make the whole school hate her? She's too sweet. She doesn't deserve this mess."

A whispered conversation from a passing pair of upper-year Slytherins just proved her point.

Harry could handle the hatred and the whispers. He'd gotten plenty of that with the Dursley's. What he was entirely unprepared for happened a week after the Dueling Club.

"I'm sorry."

Harry and Ginny gaped at Cleo, who had her arm pulled to her body and her eyes cast down in shame. "You're abandoning us?!" Ginny exclaimed, disbelief edging her voice.

Cleo bit her lip. "Malfoy's got Slytherin locked down. Most of our year already hated you for being a Gryffindor, but now? Showing any support for you two, it's social suicide! I'd be outcast!" Her eyes were wide with panic. "Can't you understand?"

Harry wished he could disappear. He had never really had friends before. He hadn't even known they could just… not be friends after becoming friends, just like that.

"I _understand_ that you're to much of a coward to be a real friend!" Ginny exclaimed, her words vicious and pointed.

Cleo looked like she wanted to cry. "I'm not a Gryffindor!" she exclaimed. "This is my life too! I can't just- just throw everything I've got away! When my sister- when she turned out to be a squib- all her pureblood friends-"

"Oh, I get it." Ginny's voice was colder than Harry had ever heard. "You're cutting your loses. We'll get out of your life, then. Come on, Harry."

And Ginny walked away.

Harry shot Cleo a last, pleading look. The Slytherin girl _was_ crying now. "It's not forever," she pleaded. "Just trust me. I've got a plan."

Harry sighed. _What a mess._ _"_ I guess, if you say so," he mumbled, not really believing his own words. "Bye, Cleo."

Turning, Harry went to catch up with Ginny.

They were alone.

* * *

" _Hello, speaker."_

Harry and Ginny crouched together at the edge of the forbidden forest, staring at the adder that had wandered out of a grassy outcropping. Harry reached out to offer the snake a hand, as if it was a dog, and to his surprise, the snake crawled onto his arm, flicking its tongue over his skin. " _Hullo_ ," he hissed back. " _Uh_ _… what's your name?"_

" _My name is_ -". The snake hissed a name Harry didn't even know how to begin translating to English.

" _Oh. Okay. Splendid. Well, uh_ _…"._ Harry really has no idea what to say to a snake. _"Go eat some mice?"_

The snake hissed in offense. _"Do I look big enough to eat a mouse? I like frogs. Thanks for the warmth, anyways."_

As the snake slid off his arm and into the bank, Harry looked to Ginny. "Did you get any of that?"

By the queasy look on Ginny's face, Harry was guessing she had. "You are the most awkward not-snake ever," she told him. "Seriously? Couldn't you have asked about the Forbidden Forest or _something?_ _"_

" _Shut up,"_ Harry said, accidentally hissing it, and Ginny flinched. "I'd like to see you do better."

" _I'd rather not,"_ Ginny hissed back.

Harry burst out laughing. "Repeat that."

" _What, I_ _'d rather not?_ " He snickered. "What?!"

"Your accent is atrocious!"

They stared at each other for a moment, then burst out into hysterical laughter. Ginny wheezed. "My- my _accent_? It's- how- I- Harry!"

"It is!" Harry choked out.

"What're you two laughing about over here?"

Ginny and Harry looked back over their shoulder to see Hagrid standing behind them, a big old bloodhound at his heels. When Harry met his eyes, the giant groundkeeper gave him a crinkle-eyes smile. "Hello, Hagrid."

"Where've you been?" Ginny asked. "We haven't seen you in a bit."

Hagrid nodded. "Doing a job for Albus down in Italy. Some of the lake critters have been taking sick, and he sent me to go ask around about aquatic diseases and whatnot. What've you two gotten up to since the last time I saw you? Nothing to bad?"

"Uh… Well, there's kind of a lot…" Harry said, beset by a sudden wave of anxiety that the groundskeeper had been swayed by the paranoia around Parseltongue that had gripped the school.

Luckily, his anxiety was immediately assuaged, because Hagrid clamped a warm hand in Harry's shoulder. "Well, why don't you two come and have a spot of tea with me? Nothin to be gained from hanging round the forest anyhow. This close to Winter, any matter of thing might be coming out to get an extra bite.

Harry paled. "Wicked," Ginny breathed.

Hagrid just chuckled and led them to his hut.

One cup of tea and some deeply questionable pastries later, Harry was buried in a massive squishy armchair, his feet dangling by the fire. Ginny, rather than taking a chair of her own, laid across the hearth at his feet, heaving a ghastly sigh every few seconds. Well deserved, Harry thought - being with Hagrid felt odd without Cleo, who had become a fixture in his friendship with the groundskeeper. Fang, in particular, had his head pressed to the stone floor, whining at Hagrid.

"Heard about the heir nonsense," Hagrid said, gruff as he settled heavily into his chair. "A bunch of ruddy hot air, if you ask me. Wait till it all blows over and things'll go back to normal, you'll see. Tell me about everything else, though."

"We're on top in charms, of course," Ginny said proudly. "Harry and I switch every now and then, but we've got Ruggenspore beat!"

Harry cracked a weak smile. "All she ever talks about is charms. Least I've started getting ahead in defense too."

"He's _wonderful_ at defense." Ginny rolled her eyes, as if annoyed she even had to say it aloud. "Honestly. Lockhart's a tosser, and most of the defense we have to learn is just charms work anyways, so I'd rather just have Flitwick teach both classes."

Hagrid gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "That's _Professor_ Lockhart, now. Man's done a world of good."

"Bullocks."

"Ginny!" Harry whispered.

A log toppled in the fire, sending sparks spinning up the flume. Reaching over, Hagrid grabbed the fire poker and jabbed at the embers, stirring them around absent-mindedly. "You were in a right state when I picked you up from that shack, Harry," he said. "Though I don't blame you, what with those relatives of yours. Dumbledore - fine man - he had me drop you off there as a babe. I-" An expression of sorrow passed over Hagrid's face for a moment.  
"If I'd know how well you'd take to being at Hogwarts, maybe I wouldn't have been half as worried. Top of your class! Your mum'd be proud of you."

Harry curled up tighter in the armchair, looking away. _Parseltongue_ _'s dark magic,_ whispered the little voice of self-doubt. _And you know how bad you hurt Gin in the Chamber of Secrets. Mum would never be proud of a freak._ "I guess so…"

"I know so," Ginny corrected him. He shot her a surprised look; she smiled. "Oh, come off it. Mums always care - that's their job! Even if they care too much…"

"Ginny's right," Hagrid agreed with a nod. "Now, why don't you two tell me about your plans for Christmas…"

* * *

 **[A/N] I love this story yo. Makes me happy to write it.**

 **Cheers to TheWateringWizard, Daniel93, Gin110881, and Hinny FTW for reviewing!**

 **Allie**


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